Changing Lives
by Dragon's Lover1
Summary: Part of 'Transformations' Universe. Kagome writes a story about changing herself into a hanyou and mating Inuyasha, and then Inuyasha reads it. If that weren't enough, bad men show up with bad intentions, followed by a Phantom with a vengeance. . .
1. Shocking Discoveries

**Explaining Note:** This is the alternate ending to my fanfiction, Transformations. While it isn't neccassary for you to read all of Transformations to understand this, I do reccommend reading the first 32 chapters, as this alternate ending begins at the 33rd. If you're wondering about the end Author's Note, it's a tradition with Transformations. I started it chapter 4, and have been threatening my reviewers ever since. I highly reccommend reading at least a few chapters of Transformations to fully understand about this whole 'threatening' thing. . . You'll find that my weapons almost always backfire somehow.

Any and all questions can be sent to me. My e-mail is displayed on my bio. Also, in my bio are three links. One to my art gallery, one to the uncensored version of Transformations on Mediaminer, and one to another Mediaminer fic of mine, DarkWorld.

And don't worry, all you fanfic reviewers. I didn't lose your reviews when I removed the AE chapters -- as it turns out, Fanfic let me keep them. YAY:D

**_AE: Thirty Three_**

It was the end.

Inuyasha stared at the screen in front of him, dumbstruck. Kagome had written an entire story, but it ended here, in his point of view. Did Kagome truly have these feelings for him? Did she truly love him like how she described it in this story? Did he love her just the same, as she'd written? Unanswerable questions, unless you asked the right person.

But how could he possibly ask Kagome about _this_? In this story a lot happened in a very short amount of time. First she wrote herself as being bitten by a wolf demon, changing into a half demon overnight, making Sesshomaru an ally of hers, and giving herself a background that was entirely too farfetched to be believed. Her father, a wolf demon named _Lockhart?_ A regenerative one at that, and Master of a pack of hundreds of demons. With a brother, no less, who hated her because of what she was.

But she changed herself in this story, making herself a half demon. But why? He only could think of two reasons, and neither sat well for him. The first was that she simply wished for stronger powers, but not wishing to be a full demon, she settled with imagining herself as half. That wasn't like Kagome, so it couldn't be it. The second was that she wished to be the perfect match for him, perhaps even a bit better. He didn't like that idea very well, but it seemed the most rational.

"Mama, I'm home!"

He jumped. Kagome was home! If she found him here, reading this story she wrote on her com-pu-ter, she Sit him into oblivion! He moved the mouse and clicked the 'x' in the upper corner, glad he'd asked so many questions about it while Kagome set it up last month. He shut off the monitor and threw himself onto her bed just as her steps took her to the top of the stairs. He put on a bored face and began tapping his fingers.

She came inside with a sigh.

"About time you got back," he snapped.

Kagome jumped. "Oh, Inuyasha," she sighed, her hand over her heart. "How long have you been waiting?"

_Long enough to read thirty two 'chapters',_ he thought. "All day."

"You waited for me all day?" She looked surprised, if not a little flattered.

"Course, wench," he sneered, sitting up. "We don't exactly have time to spare. You comin or what?"

She narrowed her eyes. "Are you actually giving me a choice?"

"No."

"Sit."

Being that he was sitting up, the beads pulled him off the bed and onto the floor. He groaned. Why couldn't it have been a bracelet? Or an ofuda that zapped him? _Something_ besides a necklace that continually smashed his face into the ground. Sometimes he was standing on concrete when she activated it, and _that_ tended to break his nose.

He sat up, rubbing the back of his neck. "Stupid - fucking - damned -" he swore in time with his rubs.

Kagome rolled her eyes. "I'm going to start making you eat soap."

"Eat soap? Why?"

"It's a punishment for swearing. You know how I keep telling you that you have a dirty mouth?" He nodded. "Washing your mouth out with soap might make it cleaner - but somehow I doubt it."

"Feh!"

"Watch it."

"What'd I do!"

"I know that sound."

"Keh," he muttered, looking away.

"That one too."

_Know me so well, huh?_ he thought. _Know me well enough to guess what I'd do in your stories. How many others do you have?_ he wondered.

She sighed and dropped her bag on her bed. "I'll be ready to go in a little bit. Just try and be patient, alright?"

"Feh."

She sighed again, giving up. "Fine." She left the room, leaving him alone again.

He grabbed his head. Just what the fuck was wrong with him! He had the perfect opportunity to ask her about that story, and he didn't! He could have claimed he didn't read too well - she wouldn't really know - and then. . .and then. . .And then what? What could he possibly do, or say? "Say, Kagome, I was playing with your com-pu-ter and found a story titled 'Transformations'. It's about you and me, isn't it? I can't figure out some of the words, though - but I caught our names!"

Somehow he didn't think she'd believe him. But what other options did he have? One way or another he just knew he'd have to bring it up. He had to find out - find out. . . something. Some reasoning behind that story.

"Say, Kagome, I read that story on your com-pu-ter and I was wondering, do you really feel that way about me?" didn't sound too good, either. He'd need help with this. . .

_Nighttime, Sengoku Jidai_

Everyone had eaten and was heading for bed, but he couldn't sleep. Why was that story bothering him so much? So Kagome had a wild imagination, so what? So she imagined herself as a half-demon who ends up mated with him, so what? So she knew - somehow - about how demons mate, so what?

And who told her? Being half demon, he didn't feel a need to bite a woman to mate her, but somehow Kagome knew that dog demons marked each other with bites. The drinking blood part was a little extreme, and he'd only heard of a few cases where the mates did drink from their wounds, but it isn't a strict rule. So who told her?

"Ahh, master Inuyasha," a quiet voice said near his shoulder.

Inuyasha slapped the flea. "Hey, Myouga," he said with a wicked smirk. He just found the culprit. "Care to answer a few questions?"

Myouga's body popped, returning to its full round form. "Questions, Master Inuyasha? What questions?"

Ahh, so he was going for the innocent routine. Inuyasha caught the flea between two fingertips and lifted him to his face. "I think you have a good idea."

"Eep!"

"Tell me, how does Kagome know about how demons mate?"

"I do not know -"

Inuyasha squished him. "Wrong answer. Strike one," he quoted, hearing the phrase from Souta a few times.

Myouga gulped and popped his body again. "She-she might have - I don't know - asked someone -"

"Strike two."

"Alright!" the flea squealed. "She asked and I told her!"

That intrigued Inuyasha. Kagome asked about how demons mated? "What exactly did she ask?"

"She asked if I knew how demons mated, and I told her!"

"And how much did you tell her?"

"That demons don't always follow rules about mating, but that those who are serious bite each other, usually on their necks."

"Anything else?"

"Well. . . I don't think so. . ."

"I know you told her something else. Something involving blood. . ."

Myouga whimpered. "I'm sorry, Master Inuyasha! I told her that sometimes they drink from the bites to deepen their bond and that it sometimes makes them take on one another's traits and scents!" He began to cry.

Inuyasha snorted and dropped him. "You can go."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Myouga yelled and leaped away, burying himself in Kirara's fur.

Inuyasha sat back in his tree and stared down at the group. Shippo, Kagome, Sango, Kirara, Miroku, and oftentimes, Myouga. Their little group. Almost a pack of his own. They all knew that Inuyasha would come for them if anything happened, such as them getting taken somewhere or lost. But most of all they knew he'd always come for Kagome first, no matter who needed to be rescued first or who was closest.

Kagome came first.

Was this love? Was Kagome right in her stories? Is what he felt for her love? Could it possibly be? He knew that once he loved Kikyo, but he'd never admitted that to her. He didn't think he loved her anymore, in any case. How could he have lost his love for Kikyo and gained a love for Kagome? It didn't seem possible. They shared a soul. In essence, they were the same.

But they were also completely different. Their soul was the only thing between them that they had in common. Well, besides their faces. Their hair wasn't even the same. Kikyo's hair was always held back and straight, controlled, perfect. Kagome's hair was always down, and wavy, and shone a shade of blue - wild. If you could call Kagome wild.

He often stayed up nights, comparing the two when he couldn't sleep. At one time Kikyo had been caring, sometimes to a fault. But it seemed Kagome held that part of their soul, for Kikyo did not care the way she used to. Kikyo. . .in all aspects. . .truly was dead. When she was alive, she had a type of light in eyes that rarely flickered and never went out. When he sees her now, that light is never there. Perhaps it's because she was brought back in a body of clay - how would he know how someone brought back from the dead would act, when they died in such turmoil?

But did that justify her actions?

No.

_Next Morning_

Today Kagome was receiving lessons from Kaede. He watched her, but tried his best not to make it obvious. He was sitting on the fence, and Kaede was showing Kagome which herbs could be plucked when, and what to look for to know when they were ripe. Kagome quite obviously wasn't getting it. Which was fine, because she wasn't a farmer anyway. What use would Kagome have for knowing when to pluck which herb?

She was, after all, going to go back to her time when this was all over, and likely never come back. People in her time didn't farm - they went to gro-cer-y stores and bought what they needed.

"Kagome! Kagome! Kagome!"

Inuyasha glanced at Shippo, hopping up and down repeatedly. It was making him dizzy.

"Hello, Shippo," Kagome greeted the fox kit. She rubbed the top of his head.

Shippo's eyes grew large and he fixed Kagome with a look that made her melt. "Did you bring anything?"

Kagome's smile was entirely too sweet. "Only for you," she said with a wink, and began digging in her backpack.

It made Inuyasha uncommonly jealous. 'Only for you'. She brought him ramen every day! All Shippo got was candy - and yet she only spoiled Shippo!

He caught himself there. Kagome was spoiling him! She couldn't be! He wasn't spoiled! But then he did get multiple packages of ramen nearly every day. . . she never complains when he falls asleep on her bed. . . she's never rushed him before, and he was used to being rushed. Was she spoiling him?

Well he certainly wasn't used to getting everything he asked for, and Kagome did give him whatever he wanted. Minus control, of course. They were always fighting over that.

Shippo munched happily on his sweets, humming something as Kagome looked through another set of pictures he'd drawn. She cooed over each one and greatly complimented how good Shippo was getting.

If Inuyasha hadn't truly been jealous of the kit before, he certainly was now. It took everything he had not to explode. The kit hadn't done anything special, yet he was getting an unhealthy amount of praise! Was Kagome so sweet and caring that she sugar-coated everything she did, just to encourage them?

Lucky kit. Kagome 'sits' him when he gets even a smidgen cocky. Shippo can boast all he wants and never gets a negative word from Kagome. How was that fair?

Simple. It wasn't.

"Lucky damned pup," Inuyasha muttered under his breath.

Kagome shot him a sharp look and Shippo whined.

Inuyasha blanched. She didn't hear that, did she!

"Sit!"

He ate dirt.

He stood up angrily a few moments later. "Why d'you keep doing that!"

Her glare was made much more frightening when she kept her head down, which is what she decided to do this time. "Doing what?" she asked sweetly.

He swallowed, knowing that tone and knowing it couldn't be good for him. In the story, she described it as a question with no right answer. So how was he going to get out of it?

"Well. . ." he started. _Think fast!_ he told himself. "Ah. . . Well you Sit me a lot -"

"Are you telling me you don't deserve it?"

He clenched his jaw to keep from screaming. _Gives me everything I ask for, minus control and freedom,_ he amended. "Do I deserve it every time you say it?" he shot back.

"I think you do."

"I think I don't."

"Your judgement is impaired."

"Really? How's that?"

Her eyes narrowed in a way he recognized as her biting her tongue. He had a good idea of what she was thinking about, and found himself looking away.

"Besides that," he muttered.

She sighed. "Not today," she said, the words almost a plea.

He didn't nod, but he did leave. The atmosphere had gotten entirely too dark on the subject, as it often did when concerning Kikyo. It was actually a little funny, if it wasn't so sad. Kikyo: so light and pure in life, darkened thoughts and auras in living death. No, he didn't love her anymore. He pitied her, and that's what made him go to her whenever she was near.

_So now I love Kagome and pity Kikyo? _he thought. _How is that right? Kikyo did everything she could to be pure, loving and loved, and Kagome . . . Kagome does it all without trying,_ he realized.

He sighed. His life was just getting more and more complicated. Was it ever going to end?

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter ending. I'll spell this out for you guys who aren't fully sure what's going on.

In this ending, I didn't write Transformations, Kagome did. And Inuyasha had bugged her so much about how computers work that he knows how to use them, and stumbled upon the story. _Kagome_ ended it at chapter 32, hence why this chapter's title is 33.

Keeping up? Good.

_:Yanks on cord, curtain pulls back: _And this be my army, all of ye who refuse to review - even at this point.

_:Hundreds of GOOD reviewers stand there, weapons of mass destruction in their hands and all with wicked grins:_

They don't get to talk at this point, maybe later if they ask, but they WILL fire on you if I say so, so REVIEW!

_:Good Reviewers load weapons and prepare to attack, laughing maniacally: _

My perfect weapon of mass destruction: Good Attack Reviews holding weapons of Mass Destruction! Mwa ha ha ha ha ha ha haaaaa!

See ya and don't forget to review! _:Waves, then looks off to the side, noticing a reader sneaking away:_

THERE HE GOES! GET HIM!

_:G.R.s attack him, beating him to a bloody, cut-up, smashed-in, bullet-laden pulp and makes him type in a review:_

_:Winks:_ See ya!


	2. Yet Another Injury What Luck

So now I love Kagome and pity Kikyo? he thought. _How is that right? Kikyo did everything she could to be pure, loving and loved, and Kagome . . . Kagome does it all without trying,_ he realized.

He sighed. His life was just getting more and more complicated. Was it ever going to end?

****

AE Thirty Four

The next day wasn't any less stressful. First, a demon attacked in broad daylight just after they finished their breakfast. It turned into a huge battle that nearly decimated an entire village and gave Inuyasha yet another belly wound.

The damn thing had tentacles and one went straight through his stomach. As if that wasn't enough, it then commented on how good he tasted, informing them that each tentacle had a mouth of its own. While Kagome's arrows hurt it quite a bit, it hadn't killed it, and Inuyasha was greatly slowed down by his wound.

Sango and Miroku gave quite a few good hits of their own, but in the end it was a distraction set by Shippo - an illusion of a god come to wreak vengeance upon the demon - that allowed Inuyasha the split second he needed to finish it off.

His last attack was overpowered, if anything. It took out several trees behind the demon, and one of them fell on a hut. While that was definitely a bad thing, the villagers looked past that and cheered on their heroes.

An hour later they left the village, after getting patched up and helping to set things straight in the now _pitiful_ village.

It was probably only Inuyasha who thought this, but he was smart enough to keep his mouth shut about it. Kagome would only yell at him, scold him about how insensitive he was, and then Sit him several times.

Being along with Kagome gave him continued chances to ask her about that story she wrote, but every time he convinced himself to bring it up, he jaw would stick shut and stay that way until he decided _not_ to say anything about it. It was getting frustrating.

It was bad timing, too, that he got his wound when he did. It usually took two or three days to fully heal and in two days was the new moon night. If it wasn't healed _just enough_ by that night, it would be extremely difficult on him, possibly life-threatening. He hadn't informed Kagome of this. And just to be sure that he couldn't be bothered on the night, he had already planned on leaving.

While he himself attracted trouble, it was Kagome who attracted the most dangerous situations. She herself was dangerous at times, with her screams and Sits and hair-pulling. Quite a few times while patching him up he'd make the mistake of saying something wrong, and sometimes she'd poke or jab the wound instead of Sit him.

What was it with women! Do they just not understand that in battle men don't wince because they're focused, but afterwards they can actually feel pain! And the women are willing to jab wounds anyway!

He snorted. Damn women.

****

Next Morning

He woke up to the sound of soft humming and sighed. What was that sound? Who was making it? He didn't want to get up yet, so instead he cracked open his eyes and tried to focus.

The humming stopped before he located it and a shriller, more annoying humming took its place. He winced at the abuse on his ears and looked around sharply.

Shippo!

He sat up and stared. What was - why - Shippo - _humming!_

Shippo stopped, grinning, and looked across at Kagome. Kagome was smiling back, and she began a soft humming again, but in a different sequence.

Inuyasha blinked. "Kagome," he said. She didn't seem to hear him. "Kagome!" he snapped.

She stopped and looked at him. Judging by her narrowed eyes and slight frown, she wasn't happy with him. What did he do?

"What's going on?" he asked.

"I'm teaching Shippo," she replied.

"Teaching him what?"

"Songs."

"But you're humming."

"That's the way to start."

"He's pretty far behind, then."

"Inuyasha!" she snapped. "Now you know that wasn't nice!"

"Your voice is soft. His is. . . not," Inuyasha reasoned.

Kagome sighed. "Go back to sleep."

He was having fun now. "I can't."

"Why not?" she said, heavily, exasperated.

"Because Shippo's humming hurts my ears."

"Keep this up and I'll screech until you beg for mercy!" she snarled at him.

"Fat chance!" he shot back.

She growled in that heavy, exasperated way females growl when they want to scream. "Go back to sleep," she ordered.

"I told you; I can't."

"Go back to sleep."

"No."

"Go back to sleep, Inuyasha."

"I said, no."

"Then go somewhere else and stop hindering us!"

He grinned. "And that's all you had to say." It was still somewhat painful to get up, but he did it and walked away from them.

"He always has to be so difficult," he heard her muttering. He flicked his ears back to hear her more clearly. "So, so, so, _so_ difficult. . . You'd think he didn't have to be such a jerk all the time -"

Inuyasha chuckled. He had to admit, he was 'difficult' with her. He almost couldn't help it, really. Something about seeing her angry. . .He just liked her more when she wanted to strangle him. It kind of a ridiculous thing to like, but then, in many ways he himself was ridiculous.

"You know, you're beautiful when you're angry."

He stopped. He'd heard that somewhere before, he was sure of it. Maybe one of Kagome's books. But why would he think of it?

Oh, no. . .

No way! he thought. _I don't think she's beautiful! Especially when she's angry! She's a, a - she's a horrible bitch when she's angry at me - but - no no no no no no! No! Don't think it! Don't think it!_

he thought. 

"She _is_ beautiful," he whispered.

He shook his head sharply. "No, no, no! She is not! Gods, what's wrong with me! This is a dream. A dream that - no, a nightmare - that - that her stupid story caused! It has to be! This is a nightmare and any second I'll wake up and won't feel like this!"

He didn't realize he was talking aloud until he noticed how quiet it was around him. Small animals had stopped their morning routines to look at him, ears forward, standing on their haunches, eyes on him alone. He snarled and they all ran away.

"I'm mad," he sighed. "That's it. It'll all make sense later."

Resolved, he began his trek again until he realized he didn't know where he was heading. He ended up before a stream, not far from camp. Thinking back, he realized one more thing he hadn't bothered to notice - Sango and Miroku weren't with Kagome. That meant Kagome was alone with Shippo. And was Kirara there?

Great, just great. He left Kagome and Shippo alone. And he developed a bad habit of talking to himself. To top it off, he was insane. And of course, he was also injured. Wasn't his life just perfect?

"Shit," he muttered. Considering the effort it took to get here, he didn't want to get up again. He was debating whether or not to go back when the decision was made for him. He heard Kagome's voice, yelling.

"Would you just leave me alone!"

He got up fairly easily for an injured man and ran back, ignoring his wound for the time being. He wasn't far when he heard her speak again, but more quietly, more calmly.

"I'm sorry, Kouga -"

Kouga!

"-I'm just a little stressed."

Stressed! He stopped and listened.

Kouga's voice. "What's stressing you? It's not dog-turd, is it?"

"No, no it isn't," Kagome replied.

Yes it is. You know it is. I'm everything bad in your life.

"You're sure, Kagome? I know you two argue a lot. Where is he, anyway?"

Shit, he's going to smell me - I'd better make an appearance before he suspects I'm eavesdropping.

"I'm right here, why?" he said, getting back into their camp. "Want an ass-kicking?"

"You couldn't kick an ass if it was right in front of you," Kouga snapped back.

"That's a lot coming from a wolf that can't aim," Inuyasha shot back.

"Go piss on a tree."

"That's your area of expertise."

"Stop it, both of you!" Kagome snapped.

"Yeah!" Shippo added.

Inuyasha snorted. "Wimpy wolf and wimpy woman." _Fuck, I shouldn't have said that. . ._

Kagome's glare could kill. "Excuse me?"

He kept his mouth shut.

"What did you say?" Kouga asked.

"Something about a wimpy woman," Shippo said.

"I hope you're not talking about me," Kagome was going on.

"He'd better not be," Kouga growled.

"That's my line," Sango's voice said.

She and Miroku had reappeared, Kirara behind them. He didn't bother asking where they were.

The monk! He could help me! He cleared his throat. "Where were you two?"

"You're learn in due time," Miroku said. _So much for him helping._

"What happened here?" Sango asked, standing beside Kagome. "What'd he say this time?"

Kagome looked at Shippo, who puffed up and quoted him - in his own voice.

"Wimpy wolf and wimpy woman."

Inuyasha paled. This couldn't go good. . . _Maybe I can play sick or something. That's right; I'm injured!_ Unfortunately he hadn't acted a day in his life. How did one pretend to be in pain?

Relive it!

He groaned and grabbed his middle. Just the memory of the pain of getting stabbed through the stomach with a thick tentacle was enough to make one double over.

And Kagome, being so caring, was a perfect nurse who always came to the aid of the injured. Predictably, she melted.

"Inuyasha!" she gasped. She was beside him in an instant and asking a million questions with each breath. This time, however, he kept his mouth shut. He didn't miss the look of such jealousy on Kouga's face, though, and his heart leapt in his chest of how simple it was to make the wolf jealous.

He caught a smirk on Miroku's face, too, and knew that Miroku knew that he was faking it. Judging by the look on Sango's face, she knew it, too, but for her credit she wasn't exposing him.

Within minutes Kagome had his haori off and new bandages on. Kouga was gone - a definite plus. The subject had been entirely dropped and didn't look like it was going to be brought up again. Thank the Gods for that, at least.

The day hadn't turned out so bad.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hey look, there goes, erm. . . somebody. O.o

****

:Watches people running around madly:

Ooo, I like this one! **_:Glomps some hunky guy and takes him as my plaything: _**Here ya go, Naraku, have a buddy.

Naraku: Welcome to Hell in a handbasket.

New Guy: Eh?

Mwahaha!

See ya!


	3. Getting Away

Within minutes Kagome had his haori off and new bandages on. Kouga was gone - a definite plus. The subject had been entirely dropped and didn't look like it was going to be brought up again. Thank the Gods for that, at least.

The day hadn't turned out so bad.

****

AE Thirty Five

Luckily, the rest of the day passed without further incident. Inuyasha was suspicious of Miroku and Sango, however. Their behavior was becoming increasingly wary, most of all to one another. Shippo was taught another word for _laugh_: cackle.

The kit was saying it nonstop! At any point of the day, he'd suddenly say, "Cackle, cackle!"

. . .and give Inuyasha a headache. Where the hell did he learn that word, and why did he have to say it instead of laugh like it! The hardest question of all, is which would be worse: the laugh or the word 'cackle!' at such a high-pitched voice.

And why the fuck wasn't anybody saying anything!

Just now Kagome giggled at something Shippo said or did, and once again Inuyasha was thrown into a feeling of jealousy. Why did she pay so much attention to that kid, anyway? _Shippo_ wasn't the injured one. _Shippo_ hadn't been hunted his entire life for being what he was. _Shippo_ hadn't gotten into life-threatening situations for a woman who hardly paid him more attention than the firecat.

Inuyasha caught himself there. Why was he being so jealous, anyway? He was the only one who could go to her time. She was the only one who could come to his. He could just follow her there one day and then smash the well. End of quest, end of admirers, end of annoying little fox kits who stole her time from him.

And possibly the beginning of his own courtship of her. . .

What the fuck am I thinking!

He shook his head violently and tried to clear those thoughts. That damn story of hers was really screwing with him.

Just wait till tomorrow morning. Then you can leave and hide and not come back for a whole day, he thought, trying to calm himself. _A whole day to yourself. No kits screaming "cackle", no enticing scents to tease you, no weird glances between Sango and Miroku, no more irritating thoughts about whether or not I could go to Kagome's time and smash the well and make her mine. . . _

Fuck, fuck, **fuck!**

he thought, trying to calm himself. 

He sighed. _I really need this day off._ Getting himself together, he ignored Shippo's continuing "cackles" and his own feelings.

By nightfall he had had enough.

"Would you fucking stop that!" he snarled at Shippo.

Kagome gasped. "Inuyasha!"

"Well it's fucking annoying!" he snapped. "Where did he learn that! Why haven't you told him it's so damned annoying!"

"It's _cute_!" Kagome snapped back.

"Maybe for a human!"

Kagome growled. "If you hate it so much, why don't you just leave! I'm not telling him to stop anything!"

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

Growling, he got up and turned, stalking away without even noticing the ache in his gut. He didn't look back. Instead, he kept going, calming himself and sniffing out a good place to stay the night, and possibly tomorrow night, too.

He found the edge of a cliff, overlooking the ocean. He recognized it, too. Once upon a time he'd been chased out here and hid under the overhang, scared spitless but not about to cry. Demons scented tears too well, and seemed to key to it.

It was the first lesson he learned out on his own. Never cry.

And this was the last place he wanted to stay. He turned his back to the place and started a new route, not fully caring where he ended up. Wherever he was heading, he'd get there eventually. It was just a question of how long it would take.

He realized he was being followed after an hour or so, but he hadn't the slightest clue how long whoever-it-was had been following him. He didn't stop, though - that was another lesson he learned fairly quickly. When followed, don't stop and face the follower unless you knew who it was, knew if they were hostile, and if they wanted _you_.

He was trying to figure out who it was, though. Unfortunately they kept downwind, so he couldn't scent them. It was getting annoying.

Kagome could call him impatient all she wanted, but when it counted, he could wait forever. He was only impatient with her because it got her flustered and angry.

Not that again. . .think of something else!

A branch snapping thankfully took his mind off his supposed attraction to Kagome, a welcome change. This had to be the first time he was actually glad to be followed. It worked wonders in taking his mind off subjects he'd rather not think about.

In front of him was a clearing, very wide and sloping upward - a treeless hill. Damn. Well, at least he'd know who was following him.

On the one hand, he supposed he could just change his course, but that would key in whoever-it-was that he was onto them.

He walked out onto the hill. Upon reaching the crest, however, he saw something that almost literally froze his blood.

Ah-Un, Sesshomaru's two-headed dragon demon he rode around on. Near them were Rin and Jaken, which meant that Sesshomaru himself was _not_ far away.

Inuyasha turned around and searched the line of trees. He was expecting to see Sesshomaru step out, but whoever-it-was had stopped. This didn't fit together right.

He heard footsteps running up the hill and looked down just as Rin screeched out, "Inuyasha!"

Jaken was hot on her heels. "Come back here now, Rin! Lord Sesshomaru will skin me if you go too far, now get back here!" the demon croaked.

Rin reached the top panting and grinning. "Do you know where Sesshomaru is?" she asked.

Inuyasha shook his head. "But there's someone following me, so stay back, okay?"

Jaken squealed. "Someone following you? Who? Is he dangerous?"

"I don't know yet, so stay with Ah-Un. Got that?"

Rin nodded several times, and despite Inuyasha's dislike for young, bubbly children, he had to admit that she was a cute little girl. She ran back down the hill, almost tripping several times with Jaken right behind her. Jaken, however,_ did_ trip and rolled halfway down.

Had the situation not been so ominous, Inuyasha might have laughed. He shook his head and turned back to the treeline, trying a bit harder to find this person - or thing. From behind him a twig snapped audibly, and Inuyasha knew immediately that whoever-it-was was letting him know he was there.

Looking over his shoulder, Inuyasha mentally swore. _There_ was Sesshomaru. And in Sesshomaru's usual, better-than-thou direct way, he got right to the point.

"What are you doing here?"

Inuyasha glanced back at where the follower still lurked. It gave him a moment to think over his response. Trying for a careless tone, he said, "Someone's following me."

He didn't notice Sesshomaru move, but knew when he showed up beside him.

"Who would follow you?"

"Someone who wanted something," Inuyasha replied, ignoring the slight insult. He kept his arms crossed, hoping that if he didn't make a single aggressive move, neither would Sesshomaru.

"There's more than one," Sesshomaru informed him. "Three, at least."

"Great," Inuyasha said with a roll of his eyes. "Just what I need."

If he'd have been paying any attention to Sesshomaru at that moment, he would have notice Sesshomaru's glance, the slight curve of one brow and the measuring gaze.

"You're still healing."

It wasn't a question, it was a statement.

"Yeah, what of it?"

No point in denying the truth around Sesshomaru. No one has ever gotten away with a lie in front of _him_.

"So this would be a bad time for you."

Another statement.

"Never miss a beat, do you?"

If Sesshomaru had something to say to that, he never got his chance. Just after Inuyasha closed his mouth, demons began springing forth from the trees. They were roughly the size of monkeys, and had the same basic body structure, but were obviously much faster. Inuyasha counted seven of them.

The leader was bright blue and the rest were white. Inuyasha's hand had already grasped Tetsusaiga, and Sesshomaru had drawn Tojikin. The leader monkey shrieked.

"The half-demon only!" The rest of the monkeys agreed to this with many more shrill shrieks. "We have no quarrel with you!"

Sesshomaru's only response was a slight tilt of his head.

"What quarrel do you have with me?" Inuyasha shouted back.

The leader monkey hissed, a reptilian sound. "Half-demon," he said. It was enough to explain everything.

Inuyasha snorted. "That's _it?_" he asked in disbelief. "None of you know of me, do you?"

The monkeys began leaping up and down, possibly one of the funniest things Inuyasha had seen a demon do yet. They were screeching in outrage, it seemed.

"Reason enough!" the leader was yelling. "Reason enough! Reason enough!"

To Inuyasha's complete shock, Sesshomaru spoke to them.

"Do you know_ me_?" he said, quietly.

They stopped jumping and squealed to one another, seemingly trying to figure out who Sesshomaru was. In unison they turned back and shook their heads.

That's it, Inuyasha thought sarcastically. _Say "no" so he'll give you the full title. Egotistic bastard._

Inuyasha thought sarcastically. 

"Lord Sesshomaru of the Western Lands," Sesshomaru was saying. "Do you know me now?"

It sure looked like it. Several of the monkeys had backed up. The leader, however, remained firm.

And did the stupidest thing you could do to Sesshomaru. He questioned him. "We only want the half-demon! What would Lord Sesshomaru be doing protecting a half-demon?"

Inuyasha winced. _That was so fucking stupid._

Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed. "I do not need to explain myself."

The leader monkey knew what was coming before it happened. With a single swing of his sword, Sesshomaru had decimated the demon and the other six monkeys were cowering. Sesshomaru walked slowly and surely towards the rest of the monkeys and spoke very quietly, with an incredible amount of control and severe coldness.

"And I protect no one."

The monkeys were scrambling past themselves in their haste to get away. Inuyasha knew that Sesshomaru would spare none of them, and that bought him a bit of time. He turned to his right and began walking away, careful about how fast he was going. If he ran, it would show fear; if he walked too fast, it would be disrespectful; if he walked too slow, it implied he wanted something. None of these options were good in front of Sesshomaru.

"And you dare to walk away from me?"

Aw, fuck.

Inuyasha stopped and turned halfway towards his brother. "I figured you wouldn't want me to stay."

That was true, and Sesshomaru realized it as soon as Inuyasha said it. Sesshomaru turned away, saying simply, "Do not return."

Inuyasha scoffed. "If I do, I'll skin myself to save you the trouble." He didn't spare a second to glance at Sesshomaru, knowing that he would probably glare and possibly bare a fang.

They could hate each other as much as they wanted, but in the end, even Sesshomaru couldn't deny they were family. Inuyasha himself had never truly wanted Sesshomaru dead, and he had a feeling that Sesshomaru's intentions, cruel as they were, were often done for the sake of reproving dominance rather than to actually kill one another.

It would be the reason why Sesshomaru never tried his fullest to kill Inuyasha, never attempted to finish him off, never hunted him down upon scenting him. Inuyasha several times over his life had scented Sesshomaru but not seen him, probably just the two of them passing by one another. But neither had stopped, ignoring the other instead of meeting for whatever reason.

But of course Sesshomaru would never admit to any of the above, even as he proved and reproved his actions through Rin, through mercy upon demons he would have otherwise killed, through his own walking away in times when he clearly had an upper hand.

He's such an ass, Inuyasha thought. _He probably knows it, too. Better-than-thou, ha! He's so full of himself._

Inuyasha thought. 

It was true that Sesshomaru needed to be brought down a peg or two, but at the moment Inuyasha wasn't exactly in shape to do so. He kept walking and scented out a place to stay the night, a cave well-hidden by the simple fact that it was right out in the open. Tomorrow night at sunset, he would be human and mostly helpless for a night, and this seemed the perfect place.

Or at least, it would do.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And chapter 35 is now done, ta-da! **_:dances:_**

The "cackle, cackle" thing is an inside joke that will probably never die, between myself, two of my cousins and a friend of theirs. It's really funny but a bit too long to explain.

On a worse note. . .

I can an e-mail stating yet another story that ripped off Transformations. Isn't that lovely? The story is called "Black Rose" and the author's penname is "Black Sugar". I copied some of the text of the e-mail for you. . .

"Normally I would give Black Rose (or anyother person) the benifit of the doubt, but little (okay not so little) things made me suspicious untill something confirmed it.

First: They named Kagome's mother Ray

Second: Kagome was bit by a Huge Black Inuyoukai at a hotspring. A odd blue acid foamed in its mouth and went into her wound. The dog also has 3 tails.

Third: The Inu visits Kagome's dreams. It tells her his name is rare and some crappy mumbo jumbo about hearts desire. She wakes up a hanyou.

I didnt have to read anymore. >. It was plain sight that Transformations was victim."

There now, ya see? I would've included the links to the fic and the author's bio, but for the fact that fanfic doesn't allow links. . .

I'm sorry that this day doesn't appear to be a happy one, but I do have a teeny bit of good news to hopefully set your day straight.

On the 26th of this month, I'll be going back to Arizona until somewhere around mid-November. This is good because I'll have my computer (Oh, happy day!) which means I can scan all my new pictures (which I've been _dying_ to do) and I'll have all my nifty programs and AMVs. . . Damn, I miss my computer. And no mistakes this time; I'm copying everything from THIS computer to CDs while I still have the chance!

See ya in two days! (By the way. . . I'm leaving it up to you guys to do whatever you see fit to this 'Black Sugar'. . . half because I don't like confrontations, and half because I love having you guys attack. I am shameless, that I am. . . Now, ATTACK my pretties! **_:Cackles like the Wicked Witch of the West:_** )


	4. His Best Human Night

It was true that Sesshomaru needed to br brought down a peg or two, but at the moment Inuyasha wasn't exactly in shape to do so. He kept walking and scented out a place to stay the night, a cave well-hidden by the simple fact that it was right out in the open. Tomorrow night at sunset, he would be human and mostly helpless for a night, and this seemed the perfect place.

Or at least, it would do.

****

AE Thirty Six

Things didn't work out quite like Inuyasha had planned. While nothing else attacked or stalked him during the next day, right before sunset he was certain that he scented their little party. Kirara had a good nose and he was sure that they were going to find him.

The change that went over him wasn't as bad as he thought it would be, either. The wound hurt more in his human form, but not too badly. He only vaguely remembered the last time he was hurt the night before the new moon, and in that instance, his human night was horrible.

By demon standards it hadn't been rough wounds, but Gods did they hurt! He was in agony nearly the entire night. Worrying that this night would be the same as that last one, he had overreacted and he knew it, but at least this way he could sigh with relief.

Not that sighing felt good or anything, but the point remained.

The cave was small, too. He couldn't stand fully upright inside. But it was deep and sloped downward. He was as far back as he could get, and leaning against the cavern wall. Sounds echoed down here: dripping water, the odd rock coming loose and tapping along the ground, birds chirping and animals rustling outside. And after a short while, light footsteps and a soft, questioning voice.

"Are you sure he's down here?"

That had to be Kagome. It was harder to judge without his hanyou ears but it was something only she would ask.

He heard Kirara mew and smirked. That sound was actually pretty cute when it didn't streak jaggedly through his ears.

"He should be. We'll stay up here. Go on."

And that one was Sango.

"Okay, thanks."

Kagome again.

He really didn't want this confrontation. Not now, anyway. He wondered briefly if he could feign being asleep already, and while Kagome would probably buy it, she'd come to her senses eventually and he'd get an ear-ful. Inuyasha never slept on his human night, even while injured.

Her footsteps carried her down and he could her hands dragging along the wall. She most likely couldn't see much, and neither could he, really. The thought occurred to him that if he didn't tell her where he was, she might run into him and make his night worse.

He waited until she got near before speaking.

"Stop there," he said.

Kagome gasped as though she were scared. She sighed a second later. "Alright. . .where are you?"

"Close."

He could only see her in profile, and saw her head turn from side to side as she tried to find him. Then a click sounded and a beam of light shown from her lightstick. Upon seeing him she sat down.

"What are you doing all the way out here?" she asked.

He could definitely see her more clearly. It always made him a type of puppet to see her with that sad, concerned look – he'd say anything she needed to hear as long as it took that expression off her face.

"Think. I'm sure you'll figure it out."

"What do you mean?"

"What happened two days ago," he said, not really asking a question.

"That fight, but - oh," she said. "You're not still hurt, are you?"

He shrugged a shoulder. "Just a little."

"This is why you left?"

"Yeah."

She looked away then and set the lightstick on the ground. Staring at the ground, she went on. "Wouldn't you be safer with us? You know we'll all protect you if you need it."

That was a nice save, he thought. _Jerk me would have slapped that back without the 'if you need it'._ "I don't like being a burden, you know that."

he thought. "I don't like being a burden, you know that." 

"Then you should know you're not a burden," she shot back, looking at him again. She had a fire in her eyes that had nothing to do with the light. "It's what friends do, Inuyasha."

"Has it occurred to you yet that every human night I've had since I met you has ended in disaster?"

"Well. . .no," she admitted, seeming a little off guard.

"What about the fact that I rarely get attacked when I'm on my own?"

She looked away.

Too bad he wasn't done yet. "I don't want to tell you this, Kagome, but you attract danger. And it's not the shards," he added when she lifted her hand to her necklace and the vial on it.

"Then what is it? What's wrong with me?" she snapped.

Shit, she's going to cry. . . "No, Kagome. There's nothing wrong with you. You're sweet, sometimes to a fault. And these times are dangerous in themselves. Half the people we meet love you instantly and the other half. . . can hardly stand you. It's the way the world works here. It's kill or be killed."

He saw her mouth tweak like she was holding back a smirk. Meeting his eyes directly, she said, "Dog eat dog."

He blinked. "What?"

"It's a phrase from my time. Dog eat dog means the same thing as kill or be killed."

He shook his head and sighed. _And the only reason she said that was because she likes to remind me that I'm half dog._ "Thanks, Kagome," he said, flatly.

She still looked like she was going to cry and now she also looked very uncomfortable. She rubbed her arm absently and he heard her sniff.

It very nearly broke his heart. He hated having this weakness. Sighing, he shifted his position until both his feet with flat on the floor and tugged on her sleeve.

She looked at him in question.

"Come here," he ordered, tugging her sleeve towards him.

Even in the dim light he could see her blush. He wondered if she was thinking about that story of hers. He tugged again, a bit harder. "Come here," he repeated.

With an audible gulp Kagome began moving, very slowly and uncertainly, towards him. He didn't let go of her sleeve until she was where he wanted her: leaning against his chest. The pain in wound flared up at the pressure, and then seemed to fade away as rain would pour off your body.

Inuyasha wrapped his arms around her and just held her there. He could hardly believe what he was doing, but things always felt so different in his human form. He thought more clearly and had less control over his emotions, but more control over his anger and patience.

Kagome's hands were on his shoulders, gripping tightly and still uncertain. He didn't know exactly what to say to her now, but he found himself talking anyway.

"I can't reach your lightstick."

She grabbed it, saying, "It's called a flashlight."

"But it's a lightstick," he argued.

"But it's called a _flash. . .light_," she said back.

He could see the beginnings of a smile on her face and knew he was heading in the right direction. "It's a stick that pours light."

"But that's not its name."

"How often do I call things by their names? Monk, kit, wench -"

"Dog-boy," she returned.

He gave a laugh. "Half dog boy."

"Close enough."

They were both laughing by the end of the 'argument'. He kept holding her against his chest for quite a while, until he was sure sunrise couldn't be far off. His thoughts were still turning around in his head, and as always while in his human form, making sense. He had to talk to her about her story, to let her know he read it. And to find out how she really felt about all that.

But he didn't want to. It was too bad for him that he knew that to do what's right rises above what you want to do. Sometime long after they settled comfortably into one another, he lifted his head from hers.

"Kagome, there's something we need to talk about."

Judging by her slow movements, she'd fallen asleep. "Hmm? What, Inuyasha?"

"Well, you know your computer?"

"Yes."

"You know how you taught me how to use it?"

". . .Yes." Her response was slower this time, wary. She had slightly tensed. She had to be fearing that he found that story. It had to be embarrassing, especially for the – ahem – twenty eighth chapter.

"I looked around at it," he said, unsure how to explain that part.

"And?"

"I found something."

He heard her catch her breath. "W-what?"

"It was a story. Thirty two chapters in separate programs, numbered so they were easy to follow. . ."

She was staring at the wall to her left, slightly down. He could see her chewing her lip. "Can you read?"

Oh, if she had been looking at him at that moment. . . "You think I can't read?"

"Well, not many people can in these times and I never thought to ask," she explained, glancing up at him only to glance away again.

"I can read." Her breath grew shaky. "And I did."

The silence that spread out between them now was so thick no other sound could penetrate it. Inuyasha could hear nothing outside of their own breathing, which had gone unearthly quiet as well.

"You weren't supposed to find that," Kagome whispered after a long pause. Everything grew silent again once she finished speaking.

"Well, I'm sorry," he replied. "But now I need to know something."

She didn't respond to that. The silence once again ruled and he thought frantically for the right words.

"Do you really feel that way?"

She let out a shuddering breath that only briefly overruled the silence. When she spoke again it was very quietly. "About what?"

"About me, about being half-demon, about you," he listed.

". . .There wasn't a single lie in that entire story," she began.

"So you do love me."

Her head dropped further and she sniffed. "Yes."

"But do you want to be half-demon?"

She shrugged. "It seemed right."

"But is it what you want?"

She didn't reply at first. When she did it so quietly he hardly heard her. "I want to be anything, as long as it means I get to be with you."

"And to be hanyou was the first thought that came to you?"

"Well, yes."

"Why?"

"I don't want you to be alone, or to feel like it."

He pulled her against his chest again, letting her hide her face in his chest. "I know I'm not alone. Look what happened when I _tried_ to be alone."

She laughed once, but it didn't seem to lighten her mood.

Inuyasha sighed and dropped his head, resting his cheek on her hair. Kagome needed silence; he knew this. She needed a few moments to come to terms with everything that was just said. He knew most of it was automatic, a response that wasn't thought out before it was said. But all the words were true, he was sure of it.

"I'm sorry," she said after another very long moment.

"Sorry for what?"

"That I wrote that. That you read it."

How could he tell her that he wasn't sorry he read it? That he was happy that she wrote it, because now they could just be honest.

"Why would you apologize?"

"It complicates things." She said that line too fast. She must have been ready for his reply.

"No, Kagome. It simplifies them."

She looked up at him. "But your life is very complicated and so is mine -"

"And together they make sense," he interrupted. He couldn't believe what he was thinking about doing, but it seemed the only thing to do now.

"But with Kikyo -"

"Forget about Kikyo." He couldn't believe he'd said that, either. His human side really had a handle on his feelings, alright.

Kagome looked shocked. "Forget about her? Inuyasha. . ."

He caught her off guard with that statement. It seemed alright - his thoughts - now that he caught her off guard again. His right hand lifted to cup her cheek. "Yes, forget about her. She isn't here now."

"But. . ."

"No buts." Heart thudding fast and stomach fluttering, he used his hand to tilt up her face, and then lowered his own. He kissed her, softly and carefully, giving her any and all moments she'd need to compose herself or pull away.

She caught him off guard, too. She kissed back after only a second or two of stun. He felt the warmth of the sun just as they drew back. He kept his eyes on hers as the sun's light filtered in through the cave entrance, hardly making it with the downward slope.

They'd never stared at one another like this before, and somehow during his change it made it special. He waited until he felt all his hanyou features return - his senses, claws, fangs, ears and coloring - and then he kissed her again.

And again, she kissed him back. To him it meant that she accepted all of him, not one side or the other. His hanyou side had a bit more physical control, calming his own heart and steadying his breath. His sense of smell picked up her scent and breathed it in. When they drew back again he slyly licked his bottom lip, getting a taste of her that left him wanting.

And Kagome had the good grace to blush.

****

:End Chapter:

No excuses. I was so distracted over the weekend that I forgot Sunday was coming. Go ahead, yell at me.

NO DON'T! PLEASE! I couldn't stand it if my readers hated me! **_:Cries in the most ridiculous way:_**

Ahem. . . Anyhow.

I'll still update tomorrow, so don't worry about that. Yesterday night I was waiting for Tammy to get off so I could get on and update, but she stayed on till after I fell asleep. So much for, "I don't plan on staying up too long tonight."

****

:Mutter curse stupid-fat-woman: I'll be glad when I leave! I really will! This house is full of bugs, dust and spiders, wasps nest outside, and everything tries to kill me! I can't count the number of times the couch has jumped out and bit me, or the coffee table. **_:Looks warily at the articles of furniture, wondering what they're going to do to me today:_**

I'll be glad when I leave! I really will! This house is full of bugs, dust and spiders, wasps nest outside, and everything tries to kill me! I can't count the number of times the couch has jumped out and bit me, or the coffee table. 

Correction: There are _two_ coffee tables and they both want me dead. **_:Sweat drop:_**

I think I'll go now. . . Don't forget the reviews for Inuyasha's first kisses! **_:Winks and casts a 'Forget Kikyo' spell on you all:_**

See ya!


	5. His Best Goodnight Kiss

They'd never stared at one another like this before, and somehow during his change it made it special. He waited until he felt all his hanyou features return - his senses, claws, fangs, ears and coloring - and then he kissed her again.

And again, she kissed him back. To him it meant that she accepted all of him, not one side or the other. His hanyou side had a bit more physical control, calming his own heart and steadying his breath. His sense of smell picked up her scent and breathed it in. When they drew back again he slyly licked his bottom lip, getting a taste of her that left him wanting.

And Kagome had the good grace to blush.

****

AE Thirty Seven

To say that things had gotten easier would be a lie. To say that things made more sense would be true. To say that Inuyasha was actually looking forward to each day was true. To say that inuyasha was dreading a possible confrontation between himself and Kikyo was more than true, it was almost a terrifying prediction. How did one tell the woman who died for him that he no longer loved her?

These dark thoughts, however, were always banished whenever Kagome kissed him, or held his hand, or smiled at him, or looked at him. . . or when she was within his scent. It seemed that nothing else mattered but her: her eyes, the way her hair floated in the wind, her amazingly alluring scent, her tender mouth that tasted good when they kissed, and then opened wide as she yelled because he'd done something to make her angry.

He realized almost the moment after they exited the cave that all the times he'd been difficult and made her angry, he'd done it unconsciously but most certainly on purpose. In all truth, she really was beautiful when she was angry.

Her eyes would always flash dangerously, a warning to back down or she'd knock you down; her cheeks often flushed in her anger, adding to her beauty; and she stood up tall in their arguments, narrowed her eyes and told him _exactly_ what she thought about him, often in so many words.

The best part was always afterwards, when they managed to get a moment to themselves, when he'd kiss her and that fast he would be forgiven. It was somewhat cruel, making her angry at him and then reproving his feelings so continuously, but she seemed to be enjoying it as much as he was.

Just now was one of those times.

"How could you say that Shippou's just a brat!" Kagome was yelling.

"Well, he is!" Inuyasha argued. "You spoil him rotten, he knows it, and he flaunts it!"

"Well I think I've been spoiling you rotten!"

"Since when!"

"Since we met you egotistical, arrogant jerk!"

"Well if I'm an egotistical, arrogant jerk and you spoil _me_ what's that say about you?"

Kagome gasped, her cheeks reddened and her eyes darkened. The look she gave him was pure fire and he had moved an inch, he would have burst into flames.

Her voice as well had lowered, and she spoke carefully, in dull tones. "Maybe I'll write a story about it."

Don't laugh! he told himself, fiercely. _Don't laugh or she'll boil you alive! _He laughed. _Ah, well, I'll survive._

he told himself, fiercely. He laughed. 

"And _what_ is so funny?" she was saying, and everyone else shrank back at her tone.

He would have answered her, had he not been laughing so hard. He shook his head and waved his hands in an attempt to beg for a few moments to compose himself.

Kagome crossed her arms and started tapping her foot. It a few moments but he finally regained control and rubbed his sore cheek.

"What's funny," he said, "is that you probably _should_ write a story about it. Remember what brought us this far?" he teased.

Her eyes widened and her jaw clenched, her cheeks turning bright scarlet. Inuyasha knew exactly why, too: she hadn't told anyone else about her story, and they probably wouldn't understand it all without understanding her time, either.

"Drop. . . .the subject," she said, faintly.

He grinned. "As you wish."

The sound she made was something like a whine-slash-whimper, and she turned away sharply, stalking away.

He followed her.

Kagome didn't seem to notice his following her until she stopped, when the camp was well out of _her_ eyesight and earshot. She leaned against a tree and huffed, crossing her arms.

"Far enough away yet?" he asked.

She jumped on the second word and faced him. "Inuyasha!" she whined. She leaned to the side and looked past him, them talked in hush tones. "You shouldn't have brought that up."

"What's the fun in knowing something nobody else does if you can't let them know that you know?" he asked.

He'd talked too fast. Kagome's face took on a slight look of confusion and after a moment she shook her head. "I don't want them knowing about that," she stated.

"Oh, you're still embarrassed about it."

"To put it bluntly, yes."

"Well when am I _not_ blunt?"

"Good point."

Inuyasha stepped up closer to her and leaned down to kiss her. She tasted good, alright, and he thanked his tongue for getting his father's bloodline. After drawing back a ways he said, "Am I forgiven yet?"

She sighed. "For almost letting that slip, you're going to have to do a bit more than kiss me before you're forgiven."

He shrugged. "Okay." He kissed her again, but took this one a step further, giving her a moment to get used to the kiss and then nipping at her lip until she opened her mouth.

He could have fainted from how dizzy he got. Kagome gasped when their tongues touched for the first time, and then he heard her moan. The kiss seemed to drag on forever like this, but when he started feeling his desire for her grow too strong he drew back, effectively ending it.

Both he and Kagome were breathing harshly and a little fast. They stared at one another for a long moment before he said, "Am I forgiven now?"

Her face entirely changed. She grinned and began laughing, and closed her eyes as she leaned forward to hug him. She giggled for a long moment and then said, "Yes, you're forgiven."

Leaning back, she added, "Sit."

Well, dammit! He was hoping that she wouldn't use that anymore.

"That's just a warning, Inuyasha," she said, kneeling down. She patted his head and idly rubbed his ears.

"Don't worry, you'll pay," he said into the ground.

She laughed again. "I'm sure."

So, she wasn't taking him seriously, was she? The spell wore off in that instant and he moved as fast as he could, getting his hands under him and then pouncing on her. Kagome shrieked on the way down and then she was pinned under him.

Smirking, he said, "Sit me now."

Heaven above, she was red. Probably entirely because of the fact that his legs were inside hers. Had they been naked. . .well, she certainly wouldn't be blushing out of _embarrassment_.

Her scent had definitely increased in lust, but she was doing an excellent job of keeping it from her face. However, she _was_ keeping her mouth shut, which she generally only did when she knew that he knew something.

The sight of her lying there like that, with her cheeks so red and her hair fanned out beneath her, she definitely looked ravishing. He had no control over his own body for a moment, and kissed her as passionately as they had minutes ago.

She wasn't stopping him.

Her scent and her taste were drugs to his senses, just as the knowledge that she wanted him was a drug to his mind. His hands gripped her hips in an attempt to keep a reign on himself and Kagome gasped. A second later her arms had linked around his neck – she was holding him there.

Had he the control to say anything, he'd be telling her to stop him right about now. He wasn't about to regain enough control to stop himself. What was going to happen next between them was entirely in her own hands.

And she was still kissing him.

****

Sango

What happened between her and Miroku last week wasn't something she considered _bad_ of any means, but it was still something she was going to keep to herself. In all truth he hadn't really done anything monumental; he'd simply taken her hand, touched her cheek, smiled and moved on.

And what did Sango do? She blinked after him for a moment in total and utter confusion. What brought that on, anyway? Miroku the Hentai Monk, making simply romantic gestures? That was totally out of character for him, but considering the following night he snuck up on her bath, it was still obvious that it was him.

Just now she lifted her head and looked in the direction of where Kagome had stalked off, where Inuyasha had followed her. "Did you hear something?" she asked.

Kirara mewed at Sango and shook her head.

"I heard a moan," Shippo informed them. "It sounded like Kagome."

Sango glanced up and met Miroku's gaze. What were they to do now? Shippo seemed oblivious to what had happened between Kagome and Inuyasha, but both Sango and Miroku had figured it out. If they hadn't known before that the two of them had gotten together, it was getting more obvious with each day.

And now they left together and were moaning in the middle of the forest.

. . .Until a loud _thud_ was heard and Inuyasha's swearing. Everyone stood in unison and stared into the forest.

"What'd you do that for!" Inuyasha's voice was saying.

"What'd I do it for! You bit me!" Kagome yelled back.

Sango's jaw fell. _Bit?_

"It was a _nip!_"

"It didn't feel like one!"

"Sensitive human! Can't you take anything!"

"SIT!"

Another loud thud, but this one was undeniably his eating dirt.

"You get back here!" And he was screaming not a second later.

"Sit! Order me again and see what happens!"

****

Inuyasha

It really was just a nip. She was taking it entirely too harshly.

A full day had passed and she still was torturing him over it. It's not like he had _intended_ on hurting her, but really she should have been expecting it. I mean, really, she knew that dog demons marked each other with bites. What was she waiting for, a speech and a bottle of wine? What _is_ wine, anyway!

It was getting harder to sleep at night. Now he fidgeted constantly in his tree, continually glancing down at Kagome's sleeping form. At least, she was pretending to sleep. He knew she was awake. The way she breathed, how she moved, her occasional sigh. She was still awake, alright, and having as much trouble as he was getting to sleep.

How did one get back in the good graces of a woman when she had become so angry? He knew everything she did: that the _nip_ was brought on by their kissing, and that she wouldn't let him kiss her again until they got past this.

Which _really_ sucked because for the past week now he'd been using kisses as a way to get forgiven. What, did he have to say he was sorry? Apologize for something that _she_ was over exaggerating about? He rarely apologized when he _was_ wrong; how could she expect him to now?

But maybe. . .maybe she didn't think that way. Maybe she thought he was in control the entire time, that he was conscious of everything he was doing and had planned the nip. How could get her to see things his way?

It occurred to him that she was probably thinking the same thing. Which meant neither were getting past this without a long talk. . .

And he hated long talks.

Sighing, he got up and hopped down. Attuned as he was to Kagome, he heard her go entirely still and catch her breath. She was really hoping this act of hers would go unnoticed. Would she never learn?

He came over to her and knelt on one knee. "Kagome, get up," he whispered. "I know you're awake. I think it's time we talked."

"There's nothing to talk about," she muttered under her sleeping bag.

"I think there is."

"Do we have to do it _now_?"

She was grabbing for anything she could reach, he realized. "Would you rather wait until morning, when everyone is up?"

". . .No."

"Then let's go. We don't have to go far as long as we keep quiet."

She muttered, "That's out of your ability," as she got up, apparently thinking he couldn't hear her.

He helped her up and together they walked a ways from camp. Inuyasha didn't stop until Kagome did; this way he knew when she was a comfortable distance.

"What do you want to talk about?" she asked.

"I think you know."

She sighed and rubbed her neck, where he nipped her. "Well. . . it hurt."

"I wasn't trying to hurt you."

"I know, it's just. . ."

"What?"

Her eyes were shining with tears when she looked up again. "It scared me."

Everything inside seemed to freeze at that. She wasn't afraid of _him_, was she? "Scared you. . .how?"

"I thought. . .I thought that you were going to. . ." She looked away. "I thought that you might be trying to. . .mark me."

Inuyasha sighed. _That_ scared her. Alright, _that_ he could deal with. "I won't until you tell me I can. You should know that."

"Well, I do, but at the moment it was instinct."

Instinct to reject me? he wondered. "What do you mean, instinct?"

She fidgeted with her hands. "It. . .I don't want to have to say it."

"I'm not telling you to, but I'm not going to understand until you explain, Kagome." Being gentle wasn't his strong point, but he sure as hell was learning.

"In my time it's very. . .just _wrong_ to start doing. . .stuff. . .before you reach eighteen," she tried.

"Stuff? Like mating?"

"To use animal terms, yes."

That sounded suspiciously like an insult. "So you're scared of me marking you, because that would mean we're mates, and that mates tend to _mate,_ and you're not eighteen?"

"Just about."

"Oh. Well, you should know that mating and marking don't always come together," he began. He himself had never heard of an instance where mates marked one another and _didn't_ mate afterwards, but then Kagome had written the sequence just so. Was she so scared of it that even in her story she couldn't allow it to happen?

She shrugged. "I guess, but not all of me can accept that."

"Well, which part can?"

For just a second her mouth turned up, and she smiled. But it faded as fast as it came.

An irresistible thought crossed his mind and he reached forward and ran his claws along her stomach. "Is it this part?"

Kagome giggled and stepped back.

"Or this part?" he asked, grazing his claws along her thigh.

"Cut it out," she laughed.

"What about here?" He went on and on, lightly touching this part of her body, then that one, until the light returned to her eyes and she smiled at him once again. For just a moment afterwards he held onto her and they smiled at each other.

Presently, though, he leaned down to kiss her and noted how she didn't try to thwart him. He kept all passion out of it, however, and made sure it was as sweet as he could manage.

"That," he said upon drawing back, "was your goodnight kiss. Do I get one, too?"

Kagome laughed out of pure delight and stood on her toes to kiss him. His best goodnight kiss ever.

****

:End Chapter:

One of the reasons why I've been changing the end notes are because of fanfic's new rule. If you haven't heard about it, I'll tell you. . .

They've forbidden authors from answering reviews in their fanfics. Seems like these guys got drunk on power and are living to make the rest of our lives difficult. One big point was brought up in argument to this new rule, which I didn't memorize so it's probably not a perfect quote:

"Answering reviews is a way of letting out readers know that we read our reviews, and we appreciate them."

Which is true. Remember me, Esme? **_:Waves:_**

We had a situation like that a couple dozen chapters back. She'd been worried that I forgot about her. Which, by the way, is impossible considering that I drew a picture of her a while back. . . like a year ago.

And I'm sure that quoting my reviews proves that I can and do respond, and gives the rest of you reasons to review as well. Maybe thinking, "Will I be the lucky one who she picks this time?" or some such thing.

Also, there's the fact that I can't give people what they ask for (such as Sesshomaru in a tux to Stacey - pardon if I mixed up the name) if I can't reply to my reviews. There's a petition going around in e-mails to fight this, going for 200 signatures I believe. The catch is that you have to have an e-mail address and an account to make your signature count.

Now that I've got that out of the way. . .**_:Picks up a bazooka:_** Now who doesn't want to review?**_ :Smirks Vegeta-like:_**

**Readers:** Erm. . . He doesn't!**_ :Points at some lone guy: _**

**Some Lone Guy: **Eep.

**:Fires the Bazooka at him:**

**Some Lone Guy:** MOMMY! _**:Blasted to tiny bits:**_

Ta-da! **_:Calls Dr. Frankenstein:_** Yeah. . . he's blasted to bits. . . Oh sure, you can implant whatever you like in him. . . No, go ahead, he's all yours now. . . Yeah, my fee stands at 5,000 for this. . . . See you soon, then! **_:Closes the cell phone:_**

Deal with the devil. **_:Winks:_**

See ya!


	6. His Worst Nightmare, True

Had he the control to say anything, he'd be telling her to stop him right about now. He wasn't about to regain enough control to stop himself. What was going to happen next between them was entirely in her own hands.

And she was still kissing him.

****

Sango

"You get back here!" And he was screaming not a second later.

"Sit! Order me again and see what happens!"

****

Inuyasha

"That," he said upon drawing back, "was your goodnight kiss. Do I get one, too?"

Kagome laughed out of pure delight and stood on her toes to kiss him. His best goodnight kiss ever.

****

AE Thirty Eight

A few weeks later, a total of four nights after his last new moon, he returned to Kagome's time after her usual three days and immediately scented Souta. Hopping out of the well showed Souta sitting on the steps and looking extremely anxious. Upon seeing Inuyasha, he completely flipped.

"Inuyasha!" he yelled. "You've got to come here – inside the house – there's an. . .come on!" He was already leading the way.

Inuyasha didn't like the sound in Souta's voice, that distinctive panicky note. He followed the boy into the house, where Mama sat at the kitchen table, looking just as unnerved as Souta was.

"What's going on?"he asked.

Mama jumped. "Inuyasha," she sighed. "Kagome's not here."

"So? She's still at school, right?"

"She didn't come home."

"So she's out with her friends again." He didn't like the way she was talking.

"I already called them! Inuyasha. . .she should have been back three hours ago."

Silence reigned supreme for one long moment. Inuyasha swallowed. "Is there a reason to worry?" he asked, carefully.

After a few seconds she nodded, slowly. "We don't know how to find her. I would have called the police, but in order for her to be 'missing' she'd have to have been gone forty-eight hours – Inuyasha!"

He was already out the door. If this was _his_ time, he would have killed everything in his path to get to her, but her time was different. Too many smells and sounds polluted the air so he was having an incredibly hard time keeping to her scent. If he didn't find her soon. . .

Well, then her time would **suffer**.

****

Random Pedestrian

"Kanaye! Give that here!"

A young girl, Kanaye, was filming things via a miniature hand-held camcorder. The person who spoke a moment ago was Hiei, her elder brother. She giggled as she taped the people walking down the streets and the cars beeping at one another.

"Holy crud! Kanaye, look at that!"

She turned the camcorder and gasped. Towards the sky, more like the roofs nearby, was a person. Whoever it was wore all red with an incredible amount of silvery hair. She taped him jumping across the buildings until he stopped and jumped down. She gasped again, sure that a ten-story fall would kill him, but he landed fine and looked around. Not a moment later he lifted his chin to the sky and then jumped back up, onto a shorter roof, and continued his trek.

"Let's go!" she said, chasing after him and trying to keep him within the range of the camcorder. A crowd was already trailing after him and he didn't seem to notice. Coming up in front of her was a wide, stout building, and he dropped down behind it. The crowd split in two directions to go around it but lost him on the other side.

"Where'd he go?" someone asked.

Straight forward, Kanaye thought. "Hiei, let's try this way," she said, and continued down the street at a quickened pace.

"Up there," Hiei whispered to her, and gestured with his eyes. She looked up and caught a faint silvery gleam before it was gone, and she glanced behind her. Nobody had bothered to follow her and the camera was still rolling.

The two of them followed that red-clad person as far as they could without being noticed. The camcorder showed him drop down in an ally-like portion of a building and she and Hiei crept forward, trying their best not to make a sound. She peeked the camcorder around the corner and watched the screen.

This building had a split straight down the middle in a T, the vertical way being the only exit, unless you went up. There were trash cans on both sides and a few back doors. To the left was nothing, but to the right. . .she almost gasped.

The screen showed that just beyond a few trash cans were two legs, mostly visible. The red-clad figure, now undoubtedly a man, was squatting before it. He was saying something, but too softly for her to hear. She did hear, however, a soft whimpering in return. Those legs moved, showing more than one bruise, and then Kanaye saw a girl's face.

She was leaning forward, towards that man. The look on his face was somewhat like pain, and the girl was crying silently, gripping his jacket, or whatever it was. Kanaye zoomed in and cleared some blurring to get a better look. Their lips were moving, but she still couldn't hear anything. The man leaned back and very carefully stroked the girl's cheek and then he took off his jacket-thing.

He was wearing another one beneath it, a white one with thinner sleeves. She couldn't see well what he did then, because his hands disappeared behind the trash cans, but then he pushed something off to the side and wrapped his jacket around the girl. She whimpered when he did so and clung more tightly to him, and Kanaye found it hard to stay quiet.

With the zoom as close as it was, she could see the girl's hands, shaking badly, and the streams of tears down her face. Just what the hell happened to her!

The man's lips moved again, but this time Kanaye read his lips: _"I'm here now."_ The girl gave him a shaky smile in return. Then he lifted her up and leapt up onto the roof again and was gone. Kanaye sighed and turned the camera around to record her.

"You're going to the police," she told the camera. "They're going to need to see this."

"Let's go, then," Hiei said. "Turn it off."

She shut off the camcorder.

****

Inuyasha

Although Kagome wouldn't say a word about where she was or what happened, it was entirely too obvious. Once he returned home with her, wrapped in nothing but his haori, her mother had both sighed with relief and absolutely freaked out. She asked a million and one questions, let Kagome take a bath, then called the police.

Through it all Kagome didn't say a word. Every time someone asked a question she didn't want to answer, she would shut up and hide her face in his chest or neck.

He'd been with her while she took her bath. For modesty's sake alone he didn't face her, merely sat with his back to the tub, but every time she moved she also whimpered. He was barely in control of himself, of his rage, of the incredible burning hatred for whoever it was that did this to her.

He got one good look at her when he wrapped her in a towel as she got out, and with increasing anger he noted all the bruises and cuts he saw on her body, most especially a large lump above her left hip. It was such a bad bruise that it wasn't discolored, but shining. It was only _just_ beneath the scar of her first battle wound, of where the Shikon Jewel was.

When he came here, it was his intention to spend the day with her, then bring her back to his time for more hunts. Instead he left alone, back to his time, as soon as night came. He stayed only long enough to talk with everyone.

"Something's happened in Kagome's time," he said. "I'm going to stay there with Kagome until it's. . .straightened out."

They didn't miss the growl in his voice.

"What's happened?" Miroku asked.

"Yeah, you're really mad," Shippo said.

"Is it Kagome?" Sango added.

He didn't want to say but nodded. "Yeah, it's Kagome. She's. . .Well, she was attacked."

"Uh-oh," Shippo said. "I think I should pity the attackers."

"Should I pray for Kagome's recovery?" Miroku asked.

"Don't bother," Inuyasha told him. "The Gods in this time don't know about her, and neither can they do anything."

Sango wasn't saying anything. One hand covered her mouth and the other held her arm. She was staring at the ground. She said, "Will Kagome be okay?"

"Yeah. It'll take a while for her to heal, though."

"What kind of attack?" Miroku went on.

Inuyasha's fists clenched. "The perverted kind."

Silence. They all understood. After a lengthy moment, Sango let out a sob and fell to her knees, dropping her head. Inuyasha stepped back as Miroku knelt down and put an arm around Sango. Another few minutes passed in which they gathered thoughts and regained control.

Sango looked up again and said, "She'll need you."

"Stay with her," Miroku added. "As long as she needs."

Inuyasha nodded. "I was planning on it. I'll come back as soon as I know more, alright?"

"But she'll be alright?" Shippo asked.

Inuyasha felt enraged, all right, but he still managed a smile to set the kit's mind at ease. "She'll be perfectly fine, once she's healed. Don't worry, her attackers won't go unpunished." He hoped they understood the threat he meant. "I'll be back tomorrow night."

His return to the well didn't go smoothly. He almost literally ran into Sesshomaru, who seemed somewhat interested in his rush.

"What has you running blindly?" he asked.

Inuyasha didn't particularly want to answer, but until he did, he knew Sesshomaru wasn't going to let him leave. "Nothing you're interested in, I'm sure."

"You smell of worry and hate."

That was true. "Yeah, I guess I would."

"Explain this."

Sometimes Sesshomaru was such a problem. "I have to get back to Kagome."

"The human calls and you rush to her side."

"Close. Our feud is going to have to wait for another night. I have to take revenge for her."

"She was hurt this badly?"

"And dishonored."

Sesshomaru's chin lifted just slightly. "By whom?"

"Humans. Can I go now?"

He nodded. "Be sure to cause them pain as well as fear," he added as Inuyasha left.

Like he needed to be told. This was likely the first time that Inuyasha and Sesshomaru parted without hateful words towards one another, and it seemed to be because Inuyasha had something else to do, something more important than a fight. And Sesshomaru knew this.

It was something of a new thought, that Sesshomaru would simply let him go because he had to avenge someone. Inuyasha pondered over it until he got back to the well, and then his thoughts filled again with the ways he would make those men pay.

When he entered her room, she was lying on her side with her back facing him. Her mother was sitting on the floor, wringing her hands, looking for all the world like she was completely lost. Seeing him seemed to calm her down a bit, and it struck a nerve in him. He had no idea Kagome's mother trusted him this much, but thinking of it, she must, otherwise she wouldn't let Kagome keep coming back.

In a sense, it kind of warmed his heart.

"What's the matter?" he asked quietly. He knew Kagome wasn't asleep, but her mother was buying the act, so he went along with it. He sat down beside her.

"Every mother worries," she replied, just as quietly. "We worry about bad things that could happen, but this. . .This is a mother's nightmare."

Not knowing what to say to this didn't stop him from speaking. "Kagome faces nightmares every day she's with me, and she beats them back."

Mama offered him a slight smile. "Perhaps. . .but she knows how to handle the dangers in your time, not the ones standing right outside our front door."

"Perhaps, but then, she doesn't have to." He sat up a bit straighter. "That's what I'm here for. I can scare away those 'dangers' with little problem."

"And when you're not here?"

She purposely let that question trail off, and he knew it. He didn't have a quick reply to it; instead he thought a moment.

"Then I guess I'll have to scare them away more fiercely from now on, so they'll stay gone while I am."

She gave him that small smile again. "I'm afraid there's not much you can do here. In your time there's just monsters, most of which are mindless. Here our monsters are all human-formed and entirely too clever. They won't stay gone."

"Just because they're clever doesn't mean that my means don't scare them. They'll pay." He took a slow breath and leaned closer, hoping Kagome wouldn't hear what he said next. "Tomorrow, I hunt."

She looked surprised. "Hunt?" she breathed. After a moment her eyes widened as she understood and she nodded. "I think we should talk downstairs."

He didn't particularly want to leave Kagome so soon after returning, but her mother obviously had more to say, so they went downstairs and spoke in the kitchen.

"What else do you need to say?" he asked.

She sat down at the table and brought her hands together. "Inuyasha. . .Our justice system is based around the phrase, 'Innocent until proven guilty'. Not everyone follows this phrase, but it is our most highly used phrase. Our justice system works this way. . .A crime is reported, in this case. . .assault, and. . .and rape. Police investigate and try to figure out whether it happened like it was told. They search for the culprit, or culprits, arrest them, and put them on trial.

"The trial is the main point. Twelve men and women are called to sit in the jury seats. Their job is to judge what the witnesses say, what the prosecutor and defendant say, and all of the evidence. At the end they decide whether or not the defendant is guilty of the crimes they were accused of. Then they choose what's deemed to be the correct amount of jail time, or even sentenced to death by number of ways.

If this man is caught, he'll have the right to a trial, to an attorney to fight for him, and to be judged. Kagome will be there at the trial because she's the victim. These charges. . .assault, kidnapping, rape. . .it's quite an amount of years in prison, more because she's a minor, but it won't last. Eventually he'll finish serving his time and be let out again. This is how it works."

"He should be killed," Inuyasha snapped. "Whoever he is, whatever he is, wherever he is. If there were any real justice Kagome would be able to kill him herself!"

"Six."

He nearly jumped. He turned and saw Kagome standing on the stairs, about halfway down and moving slow. "What?"

She reached the bottom and leaned against him. "There were six. Not one."

"Kagome," her mother gasped, covering her mouth. "Six? Six. . .men?"

Kagome nodded. "One I could have fought off by myself. Two, even. But there were. . .six."

****

Six. Inuyasha's previous anger seemed almost insignificant now, faced against this new wave of rage. A pebble in the ocean. He hugged her close and tried his best to keep his mouth shut. In his mind, his envisions of the ways he would kill one man suddenly became six, and his thoughts raced with near unintelligible streams of curses. Damns. They were damned.

He was going to damn them himself.

****

:End Chapter:

DON'T KILL ME DON'T KILL ME DON'T KILL ME! **_:Runs and hides:_**

Look, I know this seems cruel, but it's been on my mind a long time and now I'm using it. Plus it's a means to an end which I'm sure will both scare you and. . .well let's say it's naughty enough that fanfic probably won't approve. That means more editing for the family-friendly version.

This chapter is finished 2/5/05. I'm gonna make it a habit to write out the dates for ya.

Ay-yi-yi, will this fic ever end? **_:Shakes magic 8-ball, reads:_** "Signs point to 'no'." Well, there you have it.

Seriously, I shook a magic 8-ball and that's what it says. Funny, huh?

Last note: I've been getting reviews (mainly on mediaminer) that says this chapter is a lot like another fic that I hadn't heard of before now. Sorry about that, but seriously, do you guys want me to read every single fic ever written to make sure mine isn't like them? These things happen. My original Trans. was supposedly a lot like a different story. . . "Roundabout Is Fair Play" I think it was called. . . Anyway this chapter, nor any part of my fic, is plaguerized. Unlike some others, I know better.

It seems kinda ridiculous to steal a fic, anyway. If you can't write a fic yourself, find a new hobby. XD

****

:Loads a rocket launcher: I take it you're all going to review NICE things for this chapter, right? I'm locked, loaded, and not afraid to fire! Plus. . .

****

:Pushes a button, a targeting laser shines to life: I have THIS. **_:Winks, blows up a tank:_**

I have THIS. 

Hope nobody was in there. **_:Laughs maniacally:_ **

Naraku: Ow. . . **_:Smoldering, crawls out of the wreckage of the tank:_ **

Me: Eh, who cares about HIM, anyway? **_:Shoots him again:_**

See ya!


	7. Road To Recovery, Laced With Tears

He was already out the door. If this was his time, he would have killed everything in his path to get to her, but her time was different. Too many smells and sounds polluted the air so he was having an incredibly hard time keeping to her scent. If he didn't find her soon. . .

Well, then her time would suffer.

****

Random Pedestrian

"You're going to the police," she told the camera. "They're going to need to see this."

"Let's go, then," Hiei said. "Turn it off."

She shut off the camcorder._**Inuyasha**_

_**Six.**_ Inuyasha's previous anger seemed almost insignificant now, faced against this new wave of rage. A pebble in the ocean. He hugged her close and tried his best to keep his mouth shut. In his mind, his envisions of the ways he would kill one man suddenly became six, and his thoughts raced with near unintelligible streams of curses. Damns. They were damned.He was going to damn them himself.

****

AE Thirty Nine

That night, Inuyasha held Kagome close while she slept and didn't move. He didn't sleep, either. Although Kagome had taken a long bath, he could still smell the rancid scents of those men, and the scent of her blood. He had to keep himself tense, controlled; otherwise he might have pulled Kagome so close she would have crushed in his arms.

He remembered a long time ago, before he met Kikyo, when he found a woman along the side of a path, deep in a forest. She was crying, huddled over, and the kimono she wore was torn and splattered red with her blood. His first instinct was to hunt down the men who had dishonored her and slaughter them, mercilessly. And he had. A gang of men, more than a dozen in number, were camped not far away from where he found the woman. He killed them all without hesitation.

As for the woman, he gave her a new kimono he found in the camp, along with their food and supplies, and made sure she found a caravan to travel with until she reached her home village.

At the time he didn't fully understand why he cared so much, or why the thought of a woman's rape heated his blood so much. He pondered it over in his mind for nearly a full decade before shrugging it off as an act of kindness, something he did because his mother always told him to do the right thing, no matter what the cost.

He understood it better now.

The true reason why he hated the very thought of rape was because many men accused his father of rape, that Inuyasha himself was rape-born. His mother never said a bad word about his father, so he never believed the accusations, but it still made him angry. He didn't know how people could do such a thing to a woman, to dishonor her so, to take that right from the man she belonged to.

The fact that it happened to Kagome, to _his_ woman, made it even worse. He wished eternal damnation on every man and woman who ever thought of rape in the positive and instant death. But as for the men who took Kagome. . .Those men would suffer. Inuyasha would be sure to make their pain last, until they knew what it was like to be caused the same pain they caused women; the pain they caused Kagome. They would know that pain, repeatedly.

It was a vow as well as a threat. He'd never wanted anything so badly before in his life than to give those men the most painful deaths they could imagine. He didn't care how many humans he'd have to shred to get to them, or how long it took, or how tired he got. He swore by his mother's soul, they would pay.

Perhaps it wasn't something you should swear your mother's soul by, but in his mind, it was justified as the strongest vow he could make. He would never, ever, ever ever _ever_ put his mother in danger, and thus, those men had a lot to fear.

But the problem remained that he didn't know how to find them. Kagome's mother told him that her world was perfectly capable of finding the men on their own, given the time and motivation and clues they needed. All Inuyasha could think was that if he were Sesshomaru, he would have taken Kagome's family and friends away and burned the entire _ci-ty_ to make sure those men burned.

It was probably best, however, to let those men be caught by _po-li-ce_ first. The trial that had been explained to him; that would get the word out. They would go to their jail, be punished. Their story would be out as a warning. . .

And then Inuyasha would kill them. That, as well, would be out. The deaths of those men, so painful and brutal, would scare the rest of those rapists into stopping. In the end, it would be the best thing for Kagome; for her world. The only thing that would suffer would be the loss of souls heading to hell.

That was something Inuyasha could live with.

He was still awake the next morning, when Kagome's mother came running in.

"Kagome! Kagome, get up," she said. She turned on the television, which was moved up to Kagome's room last night by Inuyasha. Kagome moaned in reluctance as her mother flipped through the channels, stopping on one of them.

In the picture, a woman sat at a desk, staring into the camera. " - And once again we are showing the amazing footage we received just this morning by the Tokyo Police. Watch carefully."

Kagome sat up and watched, while Inuyasha remained laying, pretending to sleep and watching from underneath his bangs. It showed someone in red jumping from building to building, while the picture continuously jerking as whoever held the camera ran to keep up. Inuyasha recognized himself, recognized this search. A part of him hated that they were showing it; this was his search for Kagome, what right did they have to show it!

He got a shock and sat up when the image went around a corner and showed himself knelt down. Though there was no sound, he knew what he was saying. . . _"It's okay, Kagome. It's alright. Don't cry. Please, I hate it when you cry. Kagome. . . I'm here now."_

The image turned around after he leapt and showed a pretty young girl. "You're going to the police. They're going to need to see this."

And off to the side, a man's voice, "Let's go, then. Turn it off."

The screen returned to the woman at the desk. "Once again, this is the footage we have been showing all morning. The persons who took the film are Hitogasha Kanaye and Hitogasha Hiei. The man and woman in the video are unknown as of yet. The police have yet to issue a statement. Now back to Tayaoshi Hitomi with the weather."

The television went blank. Kagome's mother turned around. "Kagome, this could be either good or bad."

Kagome didn't answer. She leaned back and Inuyasha held her tight, trying to stay calm and hoping she'd pick up on it. Downstairs, the phone rang. Not a moment later Souta was at the door.

"Mama, there's a call from Ayumi. She wants to talk to Kagome."

Kagome shut her eyes and that simple motion let out a tear. "Not now," she said shakily.

Her mother got up. "I'll speak with her, Souta." She left, and shut the door.

Once again Inuyasha was alone with Kagome. He didn't know what to say, what would be a help, or what to do in the least. So instead he simply held her close and allowed her the time it takes to calm herself down. She was shaking at this point, but luckily not crying.

It was hard for Inuyasha to keep himself under control.

Still, he held himself firm and comforted himself with thoughts of slaughter. Their deaths couldn't come too soon or none of the other humans would learn of it. He had to be patient; he had to! It was, however, very difficult given the state of uncomprehendable rage he felt.

****

Two Days Later

It was amazing the spread of talk that went through Tokyo. Eventually Kagome was found and contacted by everyone, or so it seemed. Families sympathized, news reporters gained interviews, police asked for recounting of the tale time and again, and she got visitors of all sorts simply wishing to see her. Most pointedly, her friends, along with Hojo.

They all got to meet Inuyasha this way, who never left her side. He was, however, given clothes to wear along with a cap and had to keep breaking his nails on the concrete to keep them from becoming a point of interest.

Funny enough, it worked.

This day, more visitors came by while Kagome was asleep. Inuyasha sat in her room as her self-proclaimed protector every day and night, only leaving her side when she had to be. As she woke, she murmured about being hungry. Knowing how she got when she woke without him there, he waited until she fully woke up.

She sat up, stretching, and smiled at him. "Good morning," she said.

"Afternoon," Inuyasha corrected, sitting on the bed. "You hungry?" Half the time it was a rhetorical question.

"Yeah," she replied, dropping her chin a little. "You know, Inuyasha. . .I don't mean to be like this."

"It's not a problem."

"Yes, but -"

"I like doing things for you," he interrupted. "Whether it's getting food, rubbing your back, or helping you walk. It's fine - great."

She blushed. "Thank you."

He nodded. "What do you want this time?"

"Um. . ." She thought about it. "I don't really know."

"If you can't make a decision, I can't get anything for you."

She seemed to like it when he worded sentences like that. She hugged him. "You can get me plenty without me having to make a decision, Inuyasha."

"Yeah, but you usually don't like what I pick."

"That's because you always pick ramen."

"Most of the time. _Most_."

She giggled. "I know."

He put his arms around her and for a moment, they stayed just like that. When they were like this, hardly touching yet being so intimate, he could forget that she was hurt and simply enjoy the thought of being with her. Despite everything she went through, her hair still shone, her eyes still brightened for him, her skin was still soft, and her voice was still a melody that calmed his spirit. It was soothing to be near her, even now.

"Help me downstairs, Inuyasha," she said at last, drawing back.

"There's visitors downstairs," he warned her.

"Who?"

"Hitogasha Kanaye, Hiei, Shinoma, and Toyo."

Her back straightened a bit. "Those are the ones. . ."

"Who filmed us? Yeah. That's why I haven't gone down yet."

She glanced at the wall. "So, then, what. . .what do we do?"

"You stay up here; I'll go down." He stood up.

Sure, he'd be her slave from now until she. . .well, he'd be her slave forever, but when he thinks it's better for her to stay put, she doesn't argue. It was another thing he loved about her; she trusted his judgment.

"Inuyasha. . ."

He paused at her door. "Yeah?"

"You know. . .I'm really sorry."

"About what?" He turned fully towards her, intrigued. What would she have to be sorry about?

"About my being. . .skittish," she tried. "About not letting you kiss me."

He shook his head. "I understand."

"But that doesn't make it okay," she argued. "I shouldn't be scared of you, and I'm not, but. . ."

"You're right," he replied. "It doesn't make it okay. But it makes it tolerable and _that_ is okay." He smiled at her. "And I know you're not scared of me. I know it, Kagome, and you don't know how much I appreciate it." Turning back to the door, he added, "Decided on anything yet?"

He didn't have to look at her to know she was smiling again. "Ramen."

He couldn't help his grin. "Then ramen it is."

He wasn't quite sure what happened next, but sometime between going down the stairs to make ramen and going back up with it, he gained a crowd. He argued with them all the way up the stairs and swiped at the camera in his face, but without his claws it didn't shred the way he wanted it to; it just went flying into the side wall. The girl, Kanaye, looked completely stunned and perhaps hurt, but Inuyasha didn't much care.

"I won't tell you again to stay downstairs!" he snapped at them as he reached Kagome's door. They backed off, Mama trying as well to get them back downstairs, and he entered Kagome's room again. He made sure to lock the door this time, just in case.

Kagome was on her computer now. He set the ramen down next to her and watched her as she made something on the Paint program, dot by dot. She paused and smiled at him.

"What was that outburst about?"

"They followed me up the stairs," he replied automatically. "What're you making?"

She looked back at the image. "I'm not sure yet. I'll figure it out when I get there."

He took her hand off the mouse and lifted it to his lips a moment. "You should eat first," he said, quietly.

There it was again, her sad, sweet smile. "I will."

"Now," he pressed.

She looked at the ramen. "One minute?"

"Kagome," he said, dropping her hand, "I don't want you getting in bad shape because you aren't eating."

She laughed once. "Keep talking like that and I'm going to call you 'Hojo'."

"Who?"

She giggled. "A friend of mine, remember? He's a total health nut."

"Oh, him. Does he. . ."

She looked at him. "Does he what?"

Inuyasha really didn't want to finish the sentence, but it came out of him anyway. "Does he like you?"

She gave another laugh. "A little too much, I think."

He tensed. He couldn't help it; he's always been this way around Kagome, but now more than ever. He sat on her bed and watched her eat, making sure she finished, as he thought.

He hoped Hojo didn't try anything on Kagome, and hoped more so that he wouldn't _ever_. Hojo may not know it, but Kagome was his now, and if Hojo got too close to her, if he tried for her affections. . . Well, there would be seven men on his death list, instead of six. Which was fine with Inuyasha, but Kagome might fret at the loss of a friend.

Especially now.

She went back to her image after she finished her ramen - or most of it, at least. The clicking of the mouse was a little annoying, but tolerable. It had been maybe a few minutes before a knock came at the door. Kagome jumped at the sound, so drawn in, and then sighed. Inuyasha didn't move a muscle until she indicated she wanted him to answer it.

It was that family again, though it didn't surprise him in the least. He crossed his arms, narrowed his eyes, and stayed between their line of sight and Kagome. It looks like they had a backup camera, which didn't have a little red light on which usually meant it was off. In any case it was aiming at the floor.

The father, Toyo, bowed in respect. "My children, Kanaye and Hiei, wished to see how Kagome -"

"You call her Higurashi-san," Inuyasha interrupted.

Toyo bowed again. "Yes, of course. They wanted to see if Higurashi-san has improved."

"She has."

Toyo didn't look very convinced. "They wish to speak with her."

" . . ." Inuyasha glanced over his shoulder at Kagome, waiting for her answer.

She didn't look like she wanted another interview, but she swiveled the chair around and nodded. "Alright."

Inuyasha stepped to the side to let them in. His very presence seemed to intimidate all four of them, which was a plus in Inuyasha's mind. The four of them stood while Inuyasha moved beside Kagome and kept up his "power pose", as Mama had nicknamed it.

The standard questions were asked, "How are you," "How do you feel," "How did it happen", etc. Like the story wasn't out in the newspapers as it was with all the answers to the questions they asked. There were even pictures to go along with it, and Inuyasha remained nameless and faceless in all of them. It was something they discussed; not to say Inuyasha's name around strangers, least of all the press.

Whatever _that_ meant.

Inuyasha watched Kagome carefully, trying to find those giveaway signs, those little motions that meant she was through; the guests had to leave. But the conversation dragged on and on. She tried to be animated for them, looking impressed that they kept up with Inuyasha, seeming humbled that they sent the tape to the police, telling them how happy she was that they were taking an interest in her "problems".

Just when Inuyasha was beginning to snap, Mama came in and ordered him to turn on the TV, to the news. Inuyasha did so, and they all watched in a kind of stunned awe.

And then Kagome cried.

Those were the men, then, that did this to her. They were being "arrested", put into cars and being driven off. One of them turned around in the seat and stuck his tongue out at the camera, and then it changed views to a woman: the newscaster.

"What we just saw here is the capture of six men," she said. "The gunfight was brutal, and as you can see, two police officers are now in critical condition." The camera showed two men in stretchers being loaded into an ambulance, then turned back to the woman. "These men were wanted for many, many crimes for several years, and are to be convicted very soon -"

"Turn it off," Kagome said, choking on her words.

Inuyasha hit the power button and faced the family. "Out, now!" he ordered.

They got up and left, bowing in respect. Mama left too, showing them out.

As soon as the door shut, she broke. She cried harshly, into her hands. Inuyasha very nearly panicked, holding her close and trying to make her stop. From that moment on the day seemed to be dragging by incredibly slowly, filled with sobs and hiccups and tissue boxes. While he did everything he knew would help, none of it seemed to be doing much good.

Mama came upstairs with a notice that they received a phone call, that the police were asking to have Kagome testify when the court date was set up, and that Kagome's friends were here. Kagome just shook her head, her face buried in his chest. The way she clung to him fully explained that she'd only been going on by pushing the thoughts of those men out of her head, and that with them around, she would never calm down. A part of his heart always stopped beating when she was hurt, in any form of the word, and at the moment it seemed half of it went dead.

Just as soon as the sun set, she became more hysterical, both begging and screaming at them, at times threatening. He didn't hear the individual words after so long, but instead, he heard her fear and anger lacing the words. The most he could do anymore was simply hold her and let her cry herself out, so he kept holding her, wishing there was something else he could do.

He didn't look up again at the picture she was making.

****

That Night

She wasn't sleeping well.

Well. . .She hadn't been since the incident, but now was worse. Just knowing Inuyasha was there let her sleep soundly, only whimpering from time to time. But now she held herself rigidly, shaking, and clung to him.

It was funny in a twisted, dark sort of way. The moment they kissed the first time, Inuyasha could literally feel himself growing more possessive of her, more protective, even obsessive at times. When he found her in that alley, he felt it grow again, becoming twice as strong. Now he felt it again, but this time with a gradual loss of control. He had no doubt at this time that if something happened and he lost his soul to his demon blood, he would still protect her and not ever lift a claw towards her.

She meant too much to him, to both his soul and body. His thoughts of slaughter had thankfully slowed down, and now he could practically plan what he would do, in what order, to which man.

Correction - to which _beast._

They weren't humans. They couldn't be. Humans were born with an innate sense of right and wrong, and always leaned more towards the right; it was their nature. Which stood to reason, if only _his_ reason, that the humans who were evil were not truly human. At the very least, their souls were corrupted deep in the bowels of hell and sent into human bodies, taking the place of a rightful human soul sent from heaven.

These beasts would later grow continuously more malicious until at last they did unspeakable things, such as setting up raids, murder without reason, and rape. These were the ones that. . .How did Mama describe it? . . . They were "executed" within a "prison" by a number of ways. The "death sentence". It seemed ridiculously overdone and useless; if they deserved to die why wouldn't they let the person or people they wronged do the killing? It was more fitting that way, more ironic. Killed by the very people you harmed.

It's what Inuyasha wished for. If ever he did anything to harm Kagome, in any sense of the word, he wished it would be her that killed him. It was this form of thinking that allowed him to forgive Kikyo's arrow so easily, because she thought he _had_ wronged her. It wasn't necessarily okay, given Naraku's betrayal, but it was tolerable.

And _that_ was okay.

In her sleep, Kagome woke slightly and whimpered, her arms tightening around his chest. He did likewise, reaffirming his hold on her, hoping it would reassure her that he was here and wouldn't leave. That her dreams were just dreams and couldn't harm her. She didn't settle at first, not until he kissed her hair and whispered to her, "I'm still here."

It seemed to work a little. Perhaps. . .perhaps he could help her more. "Kagome, what's happening? Where are you?" he asked, very quietly.

She whimpered. "I. . .don't. . ."

"Tell me where you are."

"It's. . .an. . .room, there's a. . .a window. . ." She jerked in her sleep. "Don't let them. . .touch me," she whimpered.

"I won't. Look around, Kagome. I'm here with you."

She shook her head. "No. . .they. . ."

"Look for me."

She was quiet for a moment. And then, "I see you. . ."

"Yes. Now listen. I'm coming. They won't touch you."

She shuddered. "Yes, I. . .I see. They. . .they won't. . ."

"They won't touch you. Watch me, Kagome, and only me."

She settled a bit, relaxing. "Inu. . .yasha."

"Yes. I have Tetsusaiga; do you see? I've lifted it. They're already backing off. See me, Kagome? I've swung it. They're gone now. It's just you and me."

She shivered, once, and then settled completely. "Inuyasha. . ."

"I'm here. Look, I'm coming closer. I'm helping you up. Do you see? We're leaving. We can fly for as long as you want now."

He glanced down at her and noticed her smile then. "Flying. . .with you."

"Yes." He released one hand from his grip on her and stroked her hair, softly. Just light enough for it not to bother her, perhaps give the feeling of wind.

Her smile disappeared a moment, then returned. "You can. . .kiss me," she said.

A part of him leapt up when she said that. It was something he missed greatly. Though she probably meant his dream form, he couldn't stop himself from maneuvering until his mouth touched hers.

And she didn't flinch.

Considering it was dawning already, he could safely say that this was the start of a nice day.

It was still a nice day when she awoke, smiling. She snuggled into his chest, a feeling which always made his heart go a bit faster. And then her eyes opened and she looked up at him.

"Inuyasha. . ."

"Kagome." He ran his hand through her hair. "Good morning."

"It's morning?"

He nodded. "You slept well."

Her smile grew a bit. "I had a nice dream."

"What was it about?"

"You," she said, sitting up. "You saved me."

He rolled onto his back and linked his fingers under his head. "Did I?"

She grinned. "You know very well you did. I heard you talking to me."

"It must've been your dream," he teased. "I didn't say a word all night."

"You mean to tell me," she said, lying on her side with her chin on her hand, "that you didn't tell me we could fly for as long as I wanted?"

"Yep. I don't fly."

"It felt like it to me."

"Now you're suggesting I took you out of the room and flew?"

She giggled. "Don't be ridiculous."

"And hearing me talk to you in your sleep isn't?"

"No," she said, shoving his shoulder. "But that's because one, it's a dream, and two, you really _did_ talk to me."

"Nope, sorry. You've got the wrong guy."

"Dog-boy."

"Human-girl."

She laughed and touched the tip of his nose. "Cutie."

He blushed and sat up. "I am **not** a cutie!"

She sat up, too, and grabbed his ears. "Then what would you call these?"

"Tools!" he snapped, pushing her hands away.

She giggled again. "That doesn't mean they're not cute."

"Feh!" He looked away, crossing his arms.

He saw her hand in his line of sight, and then she was turning his head towards her. She kissed him then, and he couldn't help but hold her close when she did.

"You are cute," she said.

"Not that again!" he said, wishing he could back up and hide his face.

"You are," she pressed. "But besides that. . . You're also a complete jerk."

He snorted. "Right."

"So you're a cute jerk."

Had he the nerve to say what he was thinking. . .

"A cute jerk who's also very sweet when he _isn't_ a jerk."

"How far are you gonna go with this?"

"A cute, sweet jerk. A cute, sweet, strong jerk. Cute, sweet, strong, caring jerk. . ."

He was getting a headache. "I like how you arranged them," he said sarcastically.

She laughed. "Inuyasha, for all these reasons and more. . .I know you spoke to me last night."

"Back to that again!"

****

:End Chapter:

Heh. Poor Inu's getting so flustered. Sounds like Kag's getting better, hehe. Hope you liked this one. I had to add the cuteness at the bottom or it technically wouldn't be in the right genre. Clever Inu, talking her through her dream. Isn't he clever? Ya know, I had more planned for the whole "Inu finds Kag" scene but decided against it. Didn't wanna get hate mail, erm, e-mail.

Inuyasha's thought of "not okay but tolerable and that's okay" I repeated for a reason. Because I really think he'll think like that and live by it, and thus think it quite a bit. Also kind of proving the point that he _does_ believe in it.

The picture Kagome was making on her computer? I already have it drawn. However I still don't have a scanner and therefore you can't see it that way. Plus it isn't done yet so mwa ha ha, you won't see it for a while yet! Next friday is when I'm going back to Arizona, to my computer, to my _scanner. . ._ And whent that happens, I can scan the picture properly. I would've copied it onto Paint, and I did try at first, but I suck with Paint.

_**:Blows up Naraku:**_ Innit lovely how he splatters? Mwa ha ha!

**Naraku:** I do not deserve this! I do NOT deserve this!

**Me:** Hahaha, funny. Tell me another one.** _:Frees Onigumo from Naraku:_** Now you go live a happy life with Kikyo, kay? I need her outta the way. . .

**Onigumo:** Ki. . . kyo?** _:Blinks:_** You mean she's still alive? YIPPEE!** _:Tries to find her:_**

**Naraku:** Not fair not fair not FAIR!

**Me:** Mwa ha ha! _**:Blows up Naraku again:**_

See ya!


	8. New Friends, Old Exes, Future Corpses

It was hard for Inuyasha to keep himself under control.

Still, he held himself firm and comforted himself with thoughts of slaughter. Their deaths couldn't come too soon or none of the other humans would learn of it. He had to be patient; he had to! It was, however, very difficult given the state of uncomprehendable rage he felt.

****

Two Days Later

Just as soon as the sun set, she became more hysterical, both begging and screaming at them, at times threatening. He didn't hear the individual words after so long, but instead, he heard her fear and anger lacing the words. The most he could do anymore was simply hold her and let her cry herself out, so he kept holding her, wishing there was something else he could do.

He didn't look up again at the picture she was making.

****

That Night

"A cute, sweet jerk. A cute, sweet, strong jerk. Cute, sweet, strong, caring jerk. . ."

He was getting a headache. "I like how you arranged them," he said sarcastically.

She laughed. "Inuyasha, for all these reasons and more. . .I know you spoke to me last night."

"Back to that again!"

****

AE Forty

A lot had happened since that night the criminals were caught. A lot of it ended up on the news. Kagome, after hours of arguing, convinced Inuyasha to go back to his time until the day of the trial, which was a solid two weeks away. He spent those whole two weeks shaking his leg and tapping his fingers, pacing and growling. The entire village seemed relieved that Kagome was in fact okay, and that she was going to return here just as soon as she could.

Sango, especially, was relieved. She cried when she heard that Kagome was fine, and was recovering very well given everything that had happened to her. Miroku held Sango for a short while, leaving Inuyasha feeling pretty positive that there was something going on between them. Of course, no situation between Miroku and Sango can be intimate without failing somehow, and this time, it was the classic, 'I be Miroku. I grab ye butt. Ye slap me' routine.

Koga showed up, which of course worked its way into the typical brawl. Koga absolutely refused to believe that Kagome had chosen Inuyasha, and therefore, the standard pissing contest began. It continued with insults, growls and hits until Miroku broke it up and explained about Kagome. Koga shut up and stood frozen for somewhere around twenty seconds before going completely berserk.

"How did that happen?" he snapped at Inuyasha. "Why weren't you there to protect her? Are they dead yet? Tell me you've already killed them!"

Inuyasha shook his head. "Where she comes from is different. I didn't know people from her village could be that way. I wasn't _there_ because I was _here_, and no I haven't killed them yet. They have to be shown as an example first," he finished, darkly.

Koga seemed to completely understand. "Tell me your plans," he said after a moment.

Inuyasha shook his head again. "Where Kagome comes from is much different. You wouldn't understand all of it without seeing it, and it's impossible for you to get there."

"You go there," Koga accused. "Why can't I?"

"I don't know the rules, but for some reason only Kagome and myself can go back and forth from her village to here."

"Why don't you let me try, then?"

"Because it won't work! For once in your skinny, mangy life, just trust me on this!"

"Bite me, dog-turd!"

"No way; _I_ will only bite Kagome," Inuyasha snarled back.

Koga snarled in return. "You take that back!"

"Never! She's mine now; she wanted me!"

"She wants to slum!"

Off to the side, everyone watching went still. Shippo backed up a bit behind Miroku while Sango shook her head.

Inuyasha's mood went from bad to worse. **_Slum! He thinks Kagome's _****slumming** with me! He thinks Kagome's with me! A long, low growl escaped his throat. "You may not want to hear this, wolf, but I think it's time you knew. Kagome loves me. She always has. The reason why we're together now is because she kept pushing at _me_! She wanted me long before I wanted her!"

"That ain't true, you take it **_back_**!" Koga yelled, punctuating his last word with a punch at Inuyasha.

Inuyasha leapt up with a smirk. Once landed he said, "You ain't so fast anymore without your shards, are you? Betcha you're just dying to get your paws on more."

"If this is some pathetic attempt at pissing me off, you're a little too late!" Koga snapped back, attacking again. "I love Kagome, she's meant for me!"

"She doesn't love you!" Inuyasha replied, leaping.

"Then why would she be so kind to me, give me things?" Koga asked as he stood once more.

"Because that's what Kagome does!" Inuyasha snapped as he landed once again. "She's overly caring, unbelievably compassionate; she takes pity on you when you're hurt or hungry, that's all!"

"Liar! Kagome loves me!"

"Right now it doesn't matter who she loves!" Miroku snapped. "You should both be counting your blessing that she is alright and will return!"

Inuyasha felt like crap at that. It was true; it was more important to be thankful that she was still alive rather than to fight over whom she loves more. Especially when it was so obvious that she loves _him. _"I agree," he said at last, reluctantly. "Kagome is recovering and that's what's important."

Koga looked away. "Yeah, I guess. . . So, she. . ." He looked at Inuyasha. "She's recovering?"

Inuyasha nodded. "Really well given everything that happened."

"What do you plan on doing to those. . .those men?"

A dark look came over Inuyasha's face, and he glanced away. "A lot," he answered. Simple, short, yet an obvious declaration of pain. Everyone understood it, even as it was just two words.

Koga looked away, too. "Well, since you seem to be the only one who can stay with her at all times. . ."

"Yeah?"

Koga looked at him again. "You be sure to give 'em hell for me, alright?"

"I'll give 'em hell for Kagome," Inuyasha replied, smirking. "I'll add in a few moves for you, though."

"Thanks."

Inuyasha nodded.

"Now that we're done, I have other things to attend to. See you later, mutt."

"Same to you, wolf."

Koga ran off then, and Inuyasha had the strange feeling that this encounter was much different from all of their others. What was left behind when Koga left was a feeling Inuyasha didn't recognize. He supposed this is what it felt like when you made friends with an old adversary. Kind of like play fighting with a comrade: glad that you got to test your skills, content with a draw, a little sad that you had to part ways.

Weird.

The day before he was to go back, another person showed up whom he truly didn't want to deal with. It was Kikyo. But she seemed to be seeking someone other than himself, and so Inuyasha did the obvious thing: he sought her out.

It was easy enough to follow her scent and the trails of Soul Gatherers. Of course, upon finding her, he was stumped about what to say. The last thing he wanted was to tell about himself and Kagome Kikyo would never forgive him. Right? But then, what else could he say? Nothing else was new since their last encounter.

As it turned out, he didn't have to start the conversation.

"Inuyasha," she said. "Could you tell me. . .where is Kagome?"

That sparked his interest. "You. . .want to see Kagome?"

Kikyo nodded. "I wish to speak to her. But I haven't been able to find her lately."

"She's. . .elsewhere," he tried, looking away.

"I know that something happened to her."

He snapped his head back to look at her. "How would you know something like that!"

"Rumors," she explained. "Someone told someone else that she was hurt and now the entire countryside knows. But what happened to her?"

He really didn't want to say it again. "Something bad."

She seemed to be thinking now. "_How_ bad?"

He looked away. "Really bad."

Had he been looking, he'd have noticed that Kikyo, too, turned her head away. "But is she alright?"

"She should be okay by now," he tried. "Getting better, at least."

"So she was hurt."

"Yeah."

"By whom?"

"I don't know their names. But there were. . .six human men." He glanced at her then, noting her silence, and also noted her seemingly frozen pose.

"I imagine you would have killed them," she said, softly.

"Planning on it," he admitted. "Things work a lot differently where she comes from, so I haven't had a chance yet."

"You've made a vow of this?"

"Of course. You know how I get about revenge."

She smiled, faintly, and glanced up. "I know."

". . . ." He didn't know what to say anymore.

"Inuyasha, is there. . .anything else I should know?"

If he didn't know any better, he'd swear that was a hint. "That depends."

"On what?"

"On whether or not you could accept it."

"So it's true as well."

"What is?"

"You've decided to be with her."

His mind went blank. "Well it's not. . .so much as. . .I mean it. . ."

She smiled again. "I understand. Inuyasha, I haven't come here solely to speak with Kagome."

"Then what else?"

"Lately I've thought a lot about my wish to take you to hell with me, and I've found a flaw."

"What's that?"

"I won't go to hell. My soul belongs to Kagome now. When I die again, it'll return to her. I release you from your promise." She looked a little sad now, and glanced away. "Make no mistake; I want to be with you. I always have. But I have fully accepted that our time is over now."

"Kikyo. . ."

"And now it's time for you to be with Kagome. It's not such a bleak future, I assure you. I can still be with you. . .through Kagome."

He couldn't look at her anymore. Something about that speech got to him, and he felt unwilling to let her give up on them, even though he knew it'd been over for fifty years; now more than ever. "Kikyo, you don't have to. . .I. . ." What could he possibly say?

"I won't leave the village again. Let Kagome know I wish to talk with her, Inuyasha?"

"Yeah, I will."

"Thank you."

He glanced back at her then, but she was already walking away. Half of him yelled at him to stop her, but the other half didn't listen. Kikyo said what she had to say to him; that was that. Right? In essence, she just told him that she was ready for her death and he was now free to be with Kagome. And he just stood there, dumbfounded, and let her.

The only problem left now was whether or not he thought this development was a good thing. In all honestly, he couldn't decide.

****

Next Morning

He was crouched beside Kagome's bed, watching her sleep, when she awoke. The moment her eyes focused on him, she jumped and sat up, then put her hand over her heart.

"Inuyasha," she sighed.

He didn't move. "Yeah. I waited two weeks. Is it time yet?"

She nodded. "But you scared me, there. Really close. . ."

He stood. "Sorry, but I was. . . just making sure that you. . .your dreams. . ."

She smiled at him. "My dreams have been visions of heaven since you spoke to me."

"Feh, you're delusional," he snorted, looking away and folding his arms.

"I've have some pretty pleasant delusions, then." She stood and wrapped her arms around his waist, nuzzling his chest. "Sure you don't at least want to take credit for them?"

He put his arms around her and dropped his chin. "Only if it'll get you to stop claiming I gave them to you."

"Even though I know you did?"

"Keh."

She giggled and gave him a squeeze, which he returned.

It was mind-boggling, the way she acted. Kagome was just so incredibly pure that even a rape couldn't keep her downhearted. Sure, at the beginning she was scared and broken, but now it seemed she rebuilt herself fairly well. Although it was highly likely that it wasn't entirely her own doing, he knew for a fact that she was nearly back to her usual self.

Well. . .her usual self beginning _after_ their little episode in the cave. Just remembering that morning brought a smile to his face. He chuckled and brought her closer.

"What are you laughing about?" she asked, smiling up at him.

Gods, but he loved her smile. . . "Thinking."

"About what?"

He grinned. "The cave."

She blushed and looked away. "That's a tease meant to make me kiss you."

"No, it's the truth meant to make you _want_ to kiss me."

She giggled. "It's working."

"Is it now?" he asked, lowering his head a bit.

"I think you know it is," she replied, and stood on her toes.

The kiss was both short and sweet, but that didn't make it unappreciated. He fully enjoyed remembering the feel and taste of her lips. Afterwards he ran his fingers through her hair and pressed his forehead to hers, looking into her eyes. He really couldn't help the way he stared at her; her eyes were just so captivating.

And dreamy.

In all truth, he was scared at this very moment. Scared that the beauty of those eyes would turn harsh and cold if he so much as blinked. That the stars he saw now would fade out and leave him staring into cold emptiness. . .the cold emptiness he was promised since his birth. Rejection, hate, wrath. Knowing that Kagome wouldn't reject him, and believing it, still didn't erase his fears; the knowledge and belief merely put it aside.

And then Kagome blushed and looked away with a skittish giggle.

He couldn't help but chuckle. "What's the matter, Kagome?" he asked. "Am I making you blush?"

"No," she laughed.

"Then what's with your cheeks?"

"It's a trick of the light."

He laughed. For some reason, they both had a habit of denying things when they both knew they were true. Like his denying talking to her in her sleep. They both knew he did, but he denied it anyway.

"You should just admit that I make you blush."

"Only if you admit you talked to me in my sleep."

"But I didn't."

"Then you don't."

Luckily they were both spared a further tease-slash-argument session when her mother knocked on the door. "Kagome, dear?" she said through the door. "Are you awake?"

"Yes, Mama," Kagome replied, taking a step back.

"Has Inuyasha come back?"

"Been here for an hour," Inuyasha said.

"Well, breakfast is on the table, sweetheart. You too, Kagome."

Kagome giggled as Inuyasha sputtered.

"Thanks, Mama."

"She just - but I'm not - she can't -" Inuyasha stuttered. "**_Sweetheart!_**"

"Oh Inuyasha," Kagome sighed. "She's just teasing."

"**_Sweetheart!_**" he repeated.

"Yeah. . . she said that cause you are." She pushed him towards the door. "Now I have to get dressed, so out."

"I am **not** a _sweetheart_!" he snapped as she shut the door. "You people are nuts! I should leave and not come back!"

"It'd be doing my time a favor," she muttered, obviously thinking he couldn't hear her.

He decided to let her think so.

It wasn't long before she finished and opened her door. But then she did something that was, in essence, shocking to him: She took off his Prayer Beads. The feeling left behind was strange, perplexing; he never noticed the weight before, but now it seemed his shoulders weren't weighed down anymore. He swore a part of his heart broke off when they were lifted above his head, and it was all he could do to stare at Kagome and wonder.

"I don't want to accidentally sit you," she explained. "While we're in court."

"It would create a scene," he replied automatically, eyes dropping to look once more at the necklace.

She nodded. "Exactly. After we're back, you can put them back on, if you like."

"I would like that." The words were out of his mouth before he could fully process her statement. "Can you use them anymore?"

"I don't know. I suppose I could ask Kaede next time I see her."

"Yeah. . ." His words trailed off and he glanced higher, looking in her eyes. "So, ah. . .breakfast?"

She smiled. "Yes."

"And the court thing?"

"At ten."

"And it is?"

"Eight-thirty," she laughed.

"Right." He looked down the hall towards the stairs. For a moment, it seemed he could see farther, forward in time. He knew the faces of those men, knew their scents. He knew what the courtroom looked like, where the judge and jury sat, where the prosecution and defense were seated. He knew where he'd be, where Kagome would be, where _they_ would be. . .

And unless the jury-people were incredibly stupid and blind, he knew how they'd "_find_" the "_defenders_". . . They'd damn well better be found guilty. While their deaths had not yet ceased to appeal to him, their deaths without being known as a punishment for what they did simply would not be accepted. Inuyasha was striving for a greater good here, and by the gods, he'd make sure it got done.

****

Courtroom, three hours later

Inuyasha saw everything in a kind of slow motion. The moment those doors opened and he walked in with Kagome at his side his _right_ side - as far away from the criminals as possible - things slowed down and he noticed it all with lightning-fast and blade-sharp senses.

To his right were people on the prosecutor's side, including Kagome's friends and family, who had been seated before them. To his left, people on the defense's side, likely friends and family of those criminals. There were significantly less people on his left than his right, which brought a smirk to his face. The entire place smelled of humans and wood, mixed with other scents of things he'd yet to identify. Before him stood a gate, with hinges on its left side. Beyond that, two tables, one for each side of the trial. The judge's stand, with a seat on either side, the one on the left currently occupied by a woman and type-wri-ter. Two police officers stood beside the witness stand on the right, the criminals were all handcuffed, and four more officers stood guard around their table.

The prosecutor's table was empty save for two lawyers. There were three unoccupied seats further right, beside the jury stand. Twelve people sat there and watched Inuyasha come closer, one arm protectively around Kagome, who was looking pointedly forward.

Hardly a touch and the gate swung away from him, and he turned his back to the criminals as Kagome walked past him and veered towards her seat. He sat down beside her, in the chair that blocked the criminals' view of her. Every move he made beforehand, every gesture, was planned. He was giving those men no chances to so much as glimpse Kagome, and now he turned in his seat to stare them down. They would **_not_** be left unknowing of who he was, what he was here for. They would know his contempt for them.

They would know what he planned on doing to them, what he had in store. He made damn well sure of it.

"Counselors," the judge said. Four people stood, including the two at his table. "State your names for the record."

"Shinomuto Akira," one of them said.

"Kagurane Setsuna."

"Itskonomu Juro."

"Syrano Ichine."

"Shinomuto-san and Kagurane-san, approach the bench," the judge said.

Those were the two at his table. They stepped up to the judge's stand and they whispered back and forth, while Inuyasha caught every word of it.

"That is Higurashi-san?" the judge asked.

"Yes, that is her," Akira replied.

"Who is that man with her?"

"We don't know his name, your honor," Setsuna said.

"But both Higurashi-san, her mother and grandfather insisted he be here, with her, at all times," Akira finished.

"But who is he?" the judge snapped.

"As far as we know, he is the man who found Higurashi-san," Setsuna replied. "In all of the newspaper photos of her, he's there. We assume he's a bodyguard of some sort."

The judge sat back in his seat and thought for a moment.

The moment froze the instant Inuyasha heard someone at the other table move. He moved slow, narrowing his eyes and looking over at them with a glare that could kill.

One of the men had leaned forward in his chair, and seemed to be looking past Inuyasha at Kagome. Inuyasha growled low in the back of his throat, trying to keep the sound from becoming audible, and bared a fang. That man smiled in one of the creepiest ways Inuyasha had yet seen, and his buddies leaned forward with similar grins. One of the latter blew a kiss and beside him, Kagome shuddered.

Inuyasha looked back at her and found her staring at the table with shining eyes. He took her hand between both of his and held tight. Leaning close, he said, "Don't look. Just don't look."

"I'm trying," she whispered back. "But I can. . .I can _feel_ them looking at me."

Inuyasha's protectiveness swelled at that sentence and he puffed up, looking back at those men while dropping his chin and struggling for control. They were now chuckling and nudging one another, and one of them made a gesture like he grabbed something and jerked it towards him, and Inuyasha saw red. He grabbed the table with one hand and clenched, making it crack under the pressure. His entire body had gone tense, and he no longer heard the judge speaking.

They were going to **die**. How could a human ever be so repulsive, so cruel, so uncaring? They were demons in disguise, evil spirits sent to harm, damned demi-gods with a penchant for human flesh. . .

"Inuyasha," Kagome was whispering. "Inuyasha, Inuyasha. . ."

He lifted his chin and blinked. His previous thoughts faded, and his grip on the table slackened. He looked at Kagome, who was looking a little worried. "Yeah?"

"You were gone for a second," she said. "Inuyasha, don't do that. . .it scares me when you look that way."

He couldn't believe he could do anything to scare her. A part of his mind panicked and he wrapped his arms around her, holding her close and trying to shield her from . . .from _everything_. "I'm sorry, Kagome. I don't mean to scare you. I. . .I didn't know I could."

"It was just that stare. . .and you didn't hear me at first," she said into his chest.

Now wasn't the time for this conversation. The judge finally nodded and sent the lawyers back to the table.

"I won't do it again," he promised, speaking as quietly as possible.

She looked up at him and slowly, she smiled. "I believe you."

The lawyers were talking quietly to themselves, and one of them stood up; Akira.

"This trial," she said, pacing before the jury, "is to prove that those six men you see there, kidnapped, assaulted, and raped this young girl here. It was such a horrible crime that it couldn't be counted along with the rest of their transgressions and warrants. It had to have its own separate trial. Each one those men are equally guilty of these crimes, but Hisochane Ishi is the ringleader of this band of criminals. I know that if I were the mother of this girl, I would demand a death sentence for him and let the rest of his affiliates spend the rest of their lives in jail.

"But since this outcome isn't up to me, I will simply have to prove to you good citizens that they did kidnap, assault and rape her. Although I used the word 'simple', I am not implying that it will be. _My_ part in this is to question, show, and suggest. At the end of this trial, it's up to the twelve of you to go through everything we say, do and show, and determine whether _those_ men are guilty of _these_ crimes.

"I trust you'll make the just decision."

With that, she sat back down, and one of the two lawyers on the defense's side stood up. Juro, if Inuyasha remembered correctly.

"Why you are here," he said, "is indeed to determine whether these six men here kidnapped, assaulted and raped a young girl. _My_ purpose is not to prove that they didn't or that she's lying, but to prove that we shouldn't be here in the first place. The police lack evidence supporting this claim, and this girl, Higurashi-san, refused to get tested by doctors to determine if it even _was_ a rape.

"How do we know that there even _was_ a rape? How do we know she wasn't a willing participant? By her word alone? I'm not here to discredit her, just to point out the holes in this story. What I'm going to do, is question, show and suggest what _I_ think really happened. And as Shinomuto here said, at the end, it's all up to you. I believe you'll find the lack of sufficient proof the evidence _you_ need to determine that these men did no such thing."

He sat back down.

Inuyasha was back to squeezing the table in a deathgrip. He'd never felt so enraged before, he was sure of it. Even the shock of finding Kagome in that alley or meeting her assaulters didn't match. That fucking _lawyer_ was trying to prove that Kagome made it all up! In fact, the man had successfully added himself to Inuyasha's DeathList. The numbers were growing, but so was the satisfaction to be had once they were no more than brutally slaughtered corpses.

"I call to the stand, Higurashi Kagome," Akira said, standing.

Kagome stood up.

****

:End of chapter:

(I just wanted to keep this part, cause I love it so much. . .)

Wow. Tense ending, yes? Well well well, I'm sure you're dying to find out who won my Weapons Contest, aren't ya?

First of all, in case I forgot to mention this, I'll be leaving friday. THIS friday. I'll try to update before we have to leave, but I don't know what time that'll be. If worse comes to worst, I'll just update the night before.

Well now, let's begin, shall we? My entries are as follows:

A shiny ruler (yes, beware the ruler). Toothpick and perfume (scares ME at least). Yamihamaga (made-up fang-sword). Sporks (dangerous). Ball and chain like from Kill Bill (loved that thing). Tamohawk, or Jaken's smell (XD gotta love THAT). Evil cheese with sharp teeth or the closet and dresser that traps you for 3 hours, 19 minutes and 55 seconds (Hmm, tempting). Slingshot armed with jelly (O.o maybe. . .). A helm that gives telekenetic powers (nifty). A whip (MWA HA HA!) Lazer-guided shotgun with atachable missle- and grenade-launcher with dual-firing and auto-matike reloading system (wow long name). Sharpened spaghetti noodles (seriously. . .those HURT. I speak from experience). Mr. Sheep: Cool red Cape, rockets on his side for fast attacks, goggles for both you and Mr. Sheep, incredible head-butting power, and the best and most useful feature of all... pre-installed rocket launcher! (Wow. Bet he could do a LOT of damage. Beware the sheep, mwa ha!) A spiked yoyo which also turns into a sword, the jell-o (XD THAT one I could use fairly well, I betcha. . .) Kohaku's weapon with poison on the tip (loved his weapon, too). Multi-colored Flame Thrower (iiiiiinnnnteresting. . .Mwa ha ha!) A large inflatable red herring, a bug-catching net, or a santa-shaped cookie cutter (wtf is a herring, anyway?) An old sock, and a half a carrot (see above XD)

So then. . . I have all these entries to sort through. Now, I know I said I'd pick one or two winners, but while looking over this arsenal, I came to a lovely conclusion. . .

I could use all of them at once! Mwa ha ha ha haaa! All of you who suggested these, come get your weapons and be my Personal Assaultors while I, in my infinite amount of story magic, will brandish the best weapon of all!

LIGHTNING! **_:Thunder roars overhead, the skies darken, lightning comes forth as my servant and takes the form of a giant tiger at my side:_** With THIS I shall rule all! Nothing defeats lightning, nothing I say, NOOOOTHIIIIINNNNGGGG! **_:Laughs maniacally while my new pet and Assaultors make you all review:_**

As per my agreement with Stacy, here you are. **_:Shows Sesshomaru, tied up in a tux: _**You may marry him now. And don't you worry about Naraku; he works for ME now. **_:Shows Naraku off to the side with a chain around his neck, snarling and swiping as passersby:_** Enjoy your present, Stacy. ;-)

See ya, my unwilling reviewers. . . . **_:Scene fades out along with sounds of screams, begs, and insane laughter from myself and my P.A.:_**


	9. The Trial

He glanced back at her then, but she was already walking away. Half of him yelled at him to stop her, but the other half didn't listen. Kikyo said what she had to say to him; that was that. Right? In essence, she just told him that she was ready for her death and he was now free to be with Kagome. And he just stood there, dumbfounded, and let her.

The only problem left now was whether or not he thought this development was a good thing. In all honestly, he couldn't decide.

****

Next Morning

"Right." He looked down the hall towards the stairs. For a moment, it seemed he could see farther, forward in time. He knew the faces of those men, knew their scents. He knew what the courtroom looked like, where the judge and jury sat, where the prosecution and defense were seated. He knew where he'd be, where Kagome would be, where _they_ would be. . .

And unless the jury-people were incredibly stupid and blind, he knew how they'd "_find_" the "_defenders_". . . They'd damn well better be found guilty. While their deaths had not yet ceased to appeal to him, their deaths without being known as a punishment for what they did simply would not be accepted. Inuyasha was striving for a greater good here, and by the gods, he'd make sure it got done.

****

Courtroom, three hours later

"I call to the stand, Higurashi Kagome," Akira said, standing.

Kagome stood up.

****

AE Forty One

Akira didn't say anything for a moment once Kagome sat down in the witness stand. And then, very simply, she asked, "Do you recognize the defendants?"

Kagome locked eyes with Inuyasha. "Yes."

The way she looked at him made him want to get up and take up his Power Pose. He was her strength in this trial, and he knew it, so he kept eye contact with her, letting her draw on his strength.

"Can you tell the jury how you met them?"

She shivered. "Yes. . ."

"Please do."

To Inuyasha's dismay, she looked down. "It was just after school," she began, like she'd practiced this. "I was walking home from school. I was on Hikage street, just passed Chuo. . .Something hit me," she went on, raising a hand to the back of her head. "I never knew what it was, but when I opened my eyes again, I think I was in an apartment. And the. . .the defendants were there. They looked so cruel. . ."

Look at me, Inuyasha willed her. _Look at me, lift your head, come on! Kagome, look at me!_ He clenched his hands under the table.

Inuyasha willed her. He clenched his hands under the table. 

She shuddered in her seat, and then looked up, meeting eyes with him. She bit her lip.

"Higuashi-san, can you go on?"

Slowly, Kagome shook her head.

"Could you tell us, which one approached your first?"

"Hi. . .Hisochane," she whispered.

Inuyasha's eyes went wide as he watched her. She was shaking, she lowered her head, and faintly, he saw the glimmer of tears.

That was it. He wasn't about to stay seated while she cried. He took one step up, onto the table, and made a dash straight for her. He heard the onlookers all gasp and murmur, but really, he didn't give a damn. Although he _did_ hang on to the lip of the cap he wore to make sure it stayed on. Just as he reached her, he heard the judge gasp, too.

"He has a katana!"

About time they noticed. He only wore a belt for the sole purpose of having a way to keep Tetsusaiga with him.

He crouched down beside Kagome and didn't waste a second pulling her into his arms, out of the chair. She hid her face in his chest and grabbed his shirt tightly, and he dropped his chin. Thanks to the height of the stand, no one but the jury, the judge and a few guards could see her now, while he was fairly certain half of him was visible by the entire prosecution's crowd.

He immediately began whispering to her, telling her it was alright, he was there, she was safe, and so on. But in the back of his mind, he was remembering the painful things he'd thought up to torture those men with, and it was a very satisfying thought. In a way, it calmed him, gave him control. And he heard a new sound, the sound of clicks.

He glanced around and saw that the guards had each pulled out a _'gun'_ as Kagome called them. They looked harmless to him, but Kagome shivered and pressed herself closer.

Such a simple motion and suddenly she was the only thing he could concentrate on. People were talking back and forth, some panicked, some wondering, but it became a blur to him. The sounds were dulled and melded together. His senses focused entirely on Kagome, on feeling how badly she shook, hearing her sobs, smelling her tears.

This would not do.

"Kagome, please, you know how I hate this," he whispered. "Please, calm down. You know I won't let anything happen to you. You _know_ it. Say you know it, Kagome, please."

"I. . ." she tried.

"You know it," he pressed.

"I know it," she whimpered.

"Say it again, Kagome."

"I know it," she repeated. She gave one strong shudder, and then seemed to calm down. "I know it. I know it, Inuyasha, I do." She looked up. "You're my protector, I know."

"Believe it," he said, stroking her cheek. "I've never let anything happen to you."

She smiled. "I know."

"Are you composed?" the judge broke in.

Suddenly, Kagome looked shocked, and blushed furiously. She stood and Inuyasha followed. Facing the judge, she said, "Yes, yes, I'm sorry, your honor. I just. . ." She trailed off and looked at Inuyasha again.

"I'm afraid you're going to have to give us a _very_ good reason why your companion is wearing a sword, Higurashi-san."

She nodded. "It's his heirloom, and he never goes anywhere without it, your honor."

"He cannot have weapons in my courtroom."

"Oh, it's not a weapon," she lied flawlessly. "It's very old, your honor."

The judge tapped his fingers on his desk. "Let me see it."

Inuyasha had already drawn it in the time it took Kagome to turn around. He handed it to her and she lifted it to the judge's stand. He took it, looked it over, raised a brow at its poor condition, and handed it back. Inuyasha sheathed it the moment he got it back.

"I'll allow it," the judge said. "Resume your seats, both of you."

Kagome sat back down at the stand and Inuyasha took his seat again at the table. Which, he noticed with a smirk, wasn't aligned with the gate anymore.

"Prosecution continue," the judge said.

Akira cleared her throat. "Could the record repeat my last question?"

The woman with the typewriter stopped and said, "Could you tell us, which one approached you first."

"Thank you." She stepped up to the witness stand. "If you needed to ask yourself why they picked you, what reason would you give?" she asked Kagome.

Kagome glanced at the jury, then at her lap. "I only have one guess," she said. "I'm young. I don't know how they think, but I guess. . .I guess that's reason enough."

"Do you know anyone who would _want_ to have you raped?"

Kagome shook her head. "No."

Not in this time, anyway, Inuyasha thought. _Back at mine, who knows._

Inuyasha thought. 

"When they released you, tell us how you felt."

Kagome shuddered. "Horrible. It hurt, and I. . .I felt so dirty. . ."

Inuyasha's hands clenched again. _You're not dirty,_ he thought. _You're clean and pure and nothing those men can do to you will ever change it. You're my perfect Kagome. _

"It's okay," Akira whispered to her. "There's nothing to fear here. Remember, the past can't hurt you."

Kagome nodded, but Inuyasha had the sneaking suspicion that she would only believe it if Inuyasha said it. So he stood up.

"Past can't hurt you, Kagome," he said.

She looked up. People were murmuring left and right and the judge glared at him, but he didn't much care.

"You taught me that. You taught me to let it go."

She smiled and nodded. "Thank you."

He smiled back and sat down. Akira looked a little out of place.

"Thank you," she said, although it sounded much like an automatic response. She turned back to Kagome. "What would you say to the other girls who've been through this?"

"Tell somebody," Kagome replied without hesitation. "That's always the best thing to do. Otherwise you just. . .don't get anywhere."

The criminals muttered to each other at that and guffawed. Inuyasha heard it louder than any other sound, despite how quiet they were being. He looked at them out of the corner of his eye and had to hold his breath to keep from snarling. _Those fucking **bastards**. . .You _will_ die by my claws, all of you. **Soon.**_

"Prosecution offers Exhibit A," Akira said, "videotape of the aftermath of what happened to her." She went to the table, picked up a small rectangular box, and showed it to the jury. "In this it shows footage of this man -" she gestured Inuyasha, "- finding Higurashi-san and taking her back home. All of the doctors who witnessed this footage conclude that every bit of evidence within points towards a rape and assault."

"Objection, hearsay," one of the defense lawyers said.

"Exhibit B," Akira countered, "signed notes from a dozen doctors stating what they concluded."

"Overruled," the judge said.

The defense lawyer sat back down, frowning.

"That's nothing," one of the other lawyers whispered to his buddy. "They still can't prove a thing without DNA."

Inuyasha growled at that. How could they say nothing happened when Kagome broke down _just_ a _second ago_! Okay, now both of those lawyers were on his DeathList.

"Higurashi-san," Akira was saying, "how long did it take for you to fully heal?"

"Well, it's been two weeks and I'm still sore," Kagome replied.

"So you're not healed yet?"

"No."

"If asked, would you agree to having a doctor take a look at you?"

Kagome looked away. "I. . .I don't know."

Akira tapped her fingers together. "If your friend was allowed to come. . ?"

Kagome glanced up, sharply. Her eyes went from Akira to Inuyasha and back. "That would be alright?"

"Of course. It's every doctor's intention to make sure you feel safe."

"Um. . .Yes," she said, meeting eyes with him again. "I could if he was there."

"No more questions," Akira said and went back to the table.

"Defense," the judge said.

One of the lawyers from the other table got up - Ichine - and paced in front of Kagome, rubbing his chin idly. At length he said, "Higurashi-san, why is it that you didn't go straight to the police?"

"I didn't have to," Kagome countered. "My mother called them when I got home."

"Plus several hours, it seems. They didn't get the call until very late."

"Objection, relevance," Setsuna said, standing.

"I have a point, your honor," Ichine told the judge.

"Get to it, then," the judge snapped.

"Yes, your honor."

"Be seated, Kagurane-san."

Setsuna sat down, looking pissed.

Inuyasha met eyes with Kagome again, feeling something bad was about to happen. That lawyer didn't feel right to begin with, but now Inuyasha was sure he was about to pull something.

"We know nothing," Ichine was saying, "about what happened between you and my clients. We know nothing about what happened after that tape ended. We don't know how they found you, how you ended up where you were found, or how this man -" he gestured Inuyasha, "- found you afterwards. We don't know why you hesitated in making the call!"

"Objection, badgering the witness," Akira snapped.

"Syrano-san, ask a question," the judge said sternly.

"Why don't you tell us what happened in between these blanks?" Ichine asked, his voice low and dark.

Kagome was shaking again. But she had anger in her eyes when she met eyes with the lawyer. "Because it's irrelevant," she bit out. "It has nothing to do with the crime, why we're here now, why I'm sitting here!"

People in the jury started murmuring, and a few nodded in agreement to another's statement. Inuyasha sat up straighter and smirked, impressed with the strength Kagome spoke with now. "Keep going," he whispered, willing her to talk that lawyer into a corner.

"You're avoiding the answer," Ichine accused. "What's to stop us from believing that this 'friend' of yours wasn't the person who raped you, and not my clients!"

Everything went completely blank for a moment, so strong was the rage Inuyasha felt. He heard gasps and thumps like someone running, but couldn't see anything at first. A second later he found himself holding Ichine by his throat, the man forced to his knees.

Everyone went wild.

People on the benches behind stood up and started talking quickly, the judge began banging his miniature hammer, the police all aimed at Inuyasha with their guns. Kagome got up and threw herself at him, grabbing him around the chest and pressing her face into his shoulder. Vaguely, he heard the judge ordering Kagome to go back into the stand, for the people to remain seated, for 'order in his courtroom'.

His free arm went around Kagome as he snarled at the lawyer, "How **dare** you accuse me of rape! You filthy piece of shit, are you blind! I'd sooner kill off this planet than harm Kagome!"

"Stop, Inuyasha, please," Kagome said. "If you don't, they'll make you leave. Inuyasha!"

Forcefully, he took his eyes off the frightened face of the lawyer to look down at Kagome. "He accused me - he - he thinks I raped you!" he stuttered.

"It was a question, Inuyasha," Kagome said. "Please, let him go. You know I can't do this without you." Slowly, she reached out a hand and placed it over his, over the hand he had clenched around Ichine's neck.

He dropped his head, holding her tighter. His hand convulsed around Ichine's neck, wanting so badly to crush his windpipe or rip it out. What Kagome said made sense, but at the moment a primal urge had taken over, to protect his woman no matter the cost, even if it was protecting her from words.

But then, he'd protect her better by being here for the rest of the trial. So he concentrated on letting go and dropped the lawyer, immediately using that arm to hold Kagome closer. He was shaking in his rage, tensed, growling with each exhale. The judge was still banging his hammer and Inuyasha glared at the lawyer as he coughed, backed up and was helped up by his colleague.

"Order! Order!" the judge was still shouting. "Guards, lower your weapons! Higurashi, take your seat! And _you_," he added towards Inuyasha, "leave my courtroom! Now!"

Kagome went into full panic. "No!" she said, turning to face the judge. Inuyasha kept his arms around her, kept her close. "Please, don't make him leave!"

"I will unless you make a very good excuse for this outburst of his," the judge snarled.

"If he goes, I go," she replied, stubbornly.

"And so does the trial. Make it good."

She glanced down as she thought. "He's. . .he was. . ." She glanced at Inuyasha and then met the judge's eyes. "He's lived his life outside the city, in the forest," she tried. "I've been teaching him how we're supposed to act in the city, but I haven't had much time to yet. He doesn't know all of our. . .ways."

"Well, he's certainly uncivilized," the judge said, sourly.

Inuyasha clenched his jaw and growled again. Kagome heard it and nudged him.

The judge looked like he was thinking. "Fine, he may stay. But one more outburst like this and he's out. Understand that?"

She nodded and nudged Inuyasha again. Obediently, he nodded too.

"Now resume your seats, both of you."

Kagome went back to the stand again and Inuyasha grudgingly sat back down. He followed Ichine's movements with his eyes, making sure that lawyer stayed in check.

Ichine was shaken; that was obvious. His hands were shaking when he went to straighten his tie, and he had to forcefully clear his throat. Inuyasha smirked at Ichine's sad display to compose himself with a satisfied air. It felt good to prove to ignorant people just _who _was in power.

At length Ichine finished with his cuffs and tried to stand tall. "Higurashi-san, would you answer my question now?"

"I thought that display answered it," Kagome replied.

Ichine threw a startled glance over his shoulder at Inuyasha and gulped. Inuyasha grinned at him.

"Answer it with words," Ichine clarified, and Inuyasha took satisfaction in hearing the way Ichine's voice had started to shake again.

Too late to bother not saying his name anymore. "Inuyasha has always protected me. What he said earlier was probably the truth as strong as it can come."

"Which part?"

All of them you filthy piece of shit, Inuyasha thought. Judging by the look in Kagome's eyes, she thought the same thing.

"Pretty much all of it," she said harshly, "but more specifically the part about killing off the planet before hurting me."

Ichine swallowed again. "Yes, well, it sounds to me like it's a threat."

"I thought your 'clients' were on trial here, not Inuyasha," Kagome retorted.

Inuyasha laughed once. Kagome gave him an approving glance and looked back at Ichine. Inuyasha hadn't been the only one to laugh; quite a few others from the benches behind him laughed, too.

"The point, Syrano-san?" the judge interrupted.

"My point," Ichine said, "is that because of these unexplained gaps in your story, Higurashi-san, you can't really prove that my clients did it."

_**Fuck** no,_ Inuyasha thought. Kagome seemed to be thinking the same thing, because she bit her lip and looked away. The worst part was, what Ichine said was true. Even their lawyers knew it, because Akira swore and Setsuna clenched his fists.

"No more questions," Ichine said smugly and sat back down.

"Resume your seat, Higurashi-san," the judge said.

Kagome did so, getting up and going back to the table. However, halfway through this short journey, one of the criminals whistled at Kagome and another one blew a kiss. Kagome's step faltered and Inuyasha got up and was at her side within a second. He coldly glared at those men and more or less escorted Kagome to her seat, trying to stay between her and those gazes.

"Prosecution calls Hitogasha Kanaye," Akira said, standing.

Kanaye went to the stand and sat.

"Hitogasha-san, what was your part in this?"

"I filmed Higurashi-san and her friend the day of the rape."

"What did you think when you noticed that Higurashi-san was hurt?"

"Whoever did it was going to pay."

"How?"

"Well, I saw the way he -" she gestured Inuyasha, "- took care of her. If everything Higurashi-san says is true, then he's more than capable of killing the, ah. . .defense."

"Let the record show she gestured at Inuyasha-san. Your original thoughts, Hitogasha-san."

"Oh, well. . .No man should be allowed to get away with it, let alone six of them."

"Were you certain from the beginning that she was raped?"

"Completely."

"Why do you think this?"

"Because of how fiercely, um. . .Inuyasha?"

"Yes."

"Because of how fiercely Inuyasha guarded her."

"You went to see her, correct?"

"Yes."

"What did you observe while you were there?"

"He never left her side. At first he wouldn't let us up the stairs, and didn't let us see her until she said so."

"What is your conclusion of Inuyasha and Kagome's relationship?"

"Exactly what was said earlier. He'd kill the planet before he hurt her."

"What did you talk about when you saw her?"

"We asked her if she was alright."

"How did she look?"

"A little jumpy, but overall okay. Until. . ."

"Until?"

"Until we saw the news."

"What was on the news?"

"Them," Kanaye said with a gesture towards the defense's side.

"Let the record show she identified the defense. And how did she react?"

"She. . .she started crying."

"In your opinion, would a woman cry upon seeing men when they've done nothing to her?"

"Of course not. Why would a girl cry over nothing? I certainly wouldn't."

"Your brother was with you when you took the film, correct?"

"Yes."

"What is his opinion of this?"

"Objection, hearsay," Ichine said, standing.

"Granted," the judge said. "Shinomuto-san, ask a different question."

Akira nodded. She paused for a moment, thinking before she shook her head. "No more questions, your honor." She sat down.

"Defense?" the judge said.

Ichine stood. "No questions."

"Back to your seat, Hitogasha-san."

Kanaye left the stand, smiling at Kagome along the way. Kagome smiled back and mouthed, 'Thank you'.

And so it continued. Akira brought up a lot of people, starting with the Hitogasha family, then Kagome's, and her friends from school, Hojo included. They all said basically the same thing, implying the same thing, damning the same six men. What they said amounted to being Kagome's own set of apostles, each one declaring how good she was, how she never lied, how this was the worst thing that anyone could do to her.

Every time the defense said "No questions", Inuyasha's smile got a bit bigger. What was laid before the jury now was the word of fourteen people, Kagome included. And then Akira stood up one more time and said, "Prosecution calls Inuyasha-san to the stand."

He looked at Kagome in question. If she wanted him to stay put, then there was no way he was going up to that stand. But she nodded and said, "They called you, go ahead."

So he stood up and took the stand. Akira didn't ask him very many questions compared to the rest of the witnesses.

"Tell us what you feel for Higurashi-san."

"I love her," he replied easily, and Kagome gasped softly and then smiled. The rest of the courtroom murmured softly to itself.

"You do know that once on the stand, you must tell the truth?"

"I do now."

"And you love her?"

"I just said I did. Are you listening?"

"Inuyasha," Kagome hissed.

He cringed. "Yeah, yeah I love her."

Akira tossed a confused glance at Kagome before shrugging it off. "How did you find her?"

"The same way I find everything," he said smoothly.

The concession laughed.

"What skills did you use?"

"Mostly scent."

. . .And the concession grew quiet again.

"Scent?"

"Yeah, what's wrong with that?"

"But. . .you smelled her?"

"Well, yeah. It isn't too hard to follow."

Kagome slapped her forehead. Under her breath, he heard her murmur, "What I wouldn't give for those beads right now. . ."

"How do you know what she smells like?" Akira asked, dumbfounded.

"Simple. I sniffed her."

"But I -"

"Point, Shinomuto-san," the judge interrupted.

"Yes, your honor," Akira replied and shook her head. "Inuyasha-san."

"Right in front of you."

Someone giggled in the concession, followed immediately by several more. You'd think this wasn't a rape trial by the way some of the people were acting.

"Ah, yes," Akira said. "I see that."

"Then why'd you say my name?"

"Please stop asking questions."

"Why not? You've been asking them for the past half an hour."

Laughter this time.

"Because it's my job to ask questions," Akira snapped, looking annoyed. "Your job is to answer truthfully."

"I've been."

"Good. Now what did you think when you found Higurashi-san?"

He paused. _"Whoever the fuck did this to you won't live past the end of the week, I swear it, Kagome!"_ didn't seem like a very good answer. But in retrospect, that was the _second_ thing he thought. The first was, _"Kagome! How did you get out here! Where's your clothes! You're hurt!"_ plus about five other things.

"I wondered how she got there, what happened to her clothes, why she had bruises, and who did it," he summarized.

"And when she told you she was raped -"

"She didn't have to tell me," he interrupted. "I knew by the look in her eyes." He glanced at Kagome, who faintly smiled at him.

"Ah. . .Well, when you found out, how did you feel then?"

Murderous, enraged, insane, he thought. _The usual._ "Pissed, to say the least."

he thought. "Pissed, to say the least." 

"Why?"

"Why! Are you fucking kidding me! The woman I love was raped by six human brutes! If that's not a reason to get pissed I don't see what else is!"

"Thank you, no more questions."

"Cross-examine?" the judge said.

Ichine stayed put. His friend Juro got up instead and stopped right in front of Inuyasha.

"Tell us where you live."

"The forest."

"How do you survive out there?"

"Until I found Kagome I lived off the land."

"Wasn't it difficult?"

"Hell, no. Piece of cake when you know what you're doing."

The concession laughed again.

"Yes. It seems so. How did you meet Kagome?"

They hadn't talked about this. Kagome said she found him, which was true, so he decided to use a half-truth. "She got lost in the forest. I found her."

"What was your impression of her?"

This was too easy. "Well, she wasn't very familiar with the forest, but she seemed really good-hearted."

"What did she say to you?"

This guy was an idiot. He shrugged. "She said she was lost. I helped her find the way back to her house."

"Have you always known how to speak?"

Now _that_ was stupid. "Obviously."

That girl in the concession giggled again. Who was that?

"So you're not a complete barbarian."

He narrowed his eyes. "I can be if pushed. You're pushing."

Juro stood up a bit straighter and cleared his throat. "If you make one move you're kicked out."

"Maybe, but not before I take you down," Inuyasha growled.

"And your girlfriend loses this trial!"

He snorted. "So? Those guys are gonna die anyway. What good is a trial when they've already dug their own graves?"

"So you're planning their deaths, are you!"

"So what if I am! Wouldn't you!"

"Inuyasha!" Kagome snapped.

"Objection," Akira shouted, standing.

"Contain yourselves!" the judge intervened. "Itskonomu-san, get back on track!"

Juro backed up straightened his coat with an angry gesture. "If you wanted them dead so bad why didn't you kill them yet?" he snarled.

"I have my reasons and that's all you need to know," Inuyasha snarled back.

"So it seems. You seem to have a bit of an anger problem."

"It's no problem," Inuyasha said, smirking devilishly. "People make me angry. They die. No problem."

The concession went deadly silent.

"Inuyasha," Kagome whispered. He glanced at her and very slowly, she shook her head.

He shut his mouth.

"Inuyasha-san," Juro said, stepping closer, "do you really plan to kill my clients?"

He couldn't answer that. Naturally he wanted to kill them, but he knew Kagome too well. She'd feel bad if their deaths, though just, would be caused by her. He looked away.

"Answer the question," Juro pressed. "Do you plan on killing them?"

He sighed. "No."

He heard Kagome sigh and looked over at her, and he smiled to see her smiling at him. She whispered, "Thank you," so quietly that only he heard her.

"No more questions," Juro said and took his seat.

Inuyasha went back to his seat beside Kagome. The moment he sat down Kagome grabbed him around the middle and snuggled into his chest, making his heart jump and start beating faster. He still didn't fully understand why he felt this way whenever she touched him or acted thusly, but he didn't much care about the _why_ in any case. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, just about ready to pull her into his lap.

"Prosecution?" the judge prompted.

"No more witnesses, your honor," Setsuna said.

"Defense?"

"No witnesses," Juro replied. (DL: I chose no witnesses cause it'd make the chapter way too long and I'm getting bored with the questioning. Plus, I don't think you'd like to know what the 'defense' would have to say. . .)

"Jury to make a decision," the judge said towards the jury's stand. "Kidnapping in the second degree, assault in the first degree, rape in the first degree."

The jury got up and left, leaving Inuyasha confused. "What're they doing?" he muttered to himself.

"They're going into a room to make a decision," Kagome replied just as quietly. "They won't come out until they have, or figure they've reached an impasse."

"And that all means. . ?"

"They're going to study what we've said and done," Akira told him. "When they've made a decision they'll come back out, even if that decision is that they can't decide on guilty or not."

"_This_ is how you people judge who's guilty?" Inuyasha asked incredulously. "Don't Kagome's eyes say it all?"

"It's not that simple anymore," Kagome replied, sitting up out of his arms. "People lie these days. Most lawyers tend to twist the truth. Those twelve people in the jury are chosen at random so that at least from their point of view, it's legit."

"I thought you were supposed to tell the truth when you got on that stand."

"Not everyone obeys that rule."

Inuyasha glanced at the other side of the room and narrowed his eyes. "Yeah, I can see people who would do that," he growled.

"You told me not to look at them," Kagome replied quietly, tugging on his sleeve. "You shouldn't look, either."

"I know," he sighed, looking back at her. "But what do you expect me to do, forgive them?"

"Be patient. I know it's hard for you," she added with a smirk, "but you have to trust in our justice system. More guilty criminals go to jail than get acquitted."

"Acquitted?" he echoed.

"Ah, get the decision of not guilty," she clarified. "Get off the hook."

"So this justice system works?"

"More often than not."

"That's a vague answer," he accused.

"Vague question," she returned smoothly.

He smirked. "You're as smart as you are beautiful, Kagome," he whispered to her. "And pure enough to change the world for the better."

She blushed and looked down, at her lap. "Yeah, well you make me blush."

"I knew it!" he snapped, raising a fist in triumph.

She smiled at him and again snuggled into his chest. "I knew it before you did."

He laughed. "Yeah."

A long moment spread out between them, in which silence reigned. He didn't notice the passing of time, simply holding onto her, but he _did_ notice when the concession began filing out. He was confused at first, but after a few moments he no longer cared why they were going. However, he was getting annoyed at how long it was taking those twelve strangers to determine "guilty" as their conclusion.

He shifted in his chair, crossing his ankles on the table, and tilted back his chair. As minutes continued to pass he only got more impatient, more agitated. Kagome had laid her head down on the table, on her folded arms, long ago. He started shaking his leg and thrumming his fingers on his arm.

"Cut it out," Kagome muttered.

"There isn't anything to do!" he snapped, sitting up straight again.

"And you'd die if you stopped moving, I know," she replied sarcastically.

He huffed and folded his arms. "No, I just get pissed."

"Then do something."

"What is there to do!"

"For one thing," the judge snapped, "there's the Quiet Game! Why don't you play it?"

Inuyasha didn't know exactly what that meant, but he was fairly certain it wasn't meant as an actual suggestion. "There's also a little thing called 'picking your fights'," he muttered under his breath. "You're picking the wrong one."

"I heard that," Kagome said.

"You always hear that," he retorted.

"That I do. Why don't you try napping?"

He snorted. "Fighters don't nap."

"Then go to sleep."

"Keh," he scoffed, looking away -

And met the eyes of Hisochane, the ringleader. The man looked as disgusting as he smelled. His hair was a lengthy mess, his eyes were deep-set, he had poorly cut facial hair that only seemed to collect dirt. And he was grinning badly, showing two missing teeth. At the very least, Inuyasha could understand why such a man would resort to rape, being so completely unattractive that no woman in her right mind would so much as nod at him. The other five men were cleaner, more well-groomed, and one of them looked like a Lord in his taste of clothing and spotless frame.

Yet he still traveled with Hisochane, committing one crime after another. That one, with his hair held back and crisp suit, _he_ was the only one Inuyasha couldn't figure out. The rest had obvious reasons why they would commit heinous crimes, yet he looked as though he could have any woman at any time. What was his reason for raping? Was there one?

Inuyasha could have peeled the skin off his body and not felt it, he became so bored. After so long his senses retreated inward and he stared blankly at the table in front of him, not thinking - or at least, not realizing his thoughts. His ears picked up this sound and that: a ticking, someone coughing, Kagome's breathing, the judge tapping his fingers as they waited.

And then a door opened and he looked up. The jury filed back into their stand, into their seats. One person, a young woman who looked about Kagome's mother's age, remained standing. She had a slip of paper in her hand.

"Has the jury reached a verdict?" the judge asked, and once again that woman with the type-wri-ter began tapping away.

"We have."

"On the first charge, kidnapping in the second degree, how do you find the defendants?"

"Guilty."

A chorus of sighs sounded from behind Inuyasha at the simple word, and he leaned back in his chair, smiling softly. Their justice system worked, after all.

"On the second charge, assault in the first degree, how do you find the defendants?"

"Guilty."

Another chorus of sighs went through the room and Inuyasha added his own. Beside him, Kagome was anxiously watching that woman, her hands clenched in her lap.

"On the third charge, rape in the first degree, how do you find the defendants?"

"Guilty."

Someone yelled "yes!" behind him, and a cheer followed. They began clapping and Inuyasha focused his attention entirely on Kagome.

She closed her eyes and exhaled softly, and the motion brought a tear from one eye. She turned a smile towards him and Inuyasha embraced her, holding her tightly to him.

"We did it," she said, her voice implying that she could hardly believe it.

"_You_ did it," Inuyasha whispered back. "The rest of us were only here to help."

"And you helped me most," she agreed, looking up at him. "Thank you, Inuyasha."

The way she looked at him now, the light in her eyes, that unbelievable smile; it all seduced him and he lowered his head to kiss her, not caring that an entire concession could see them.

It wasn't but a few moments later and the judge practically told them all to leave now that the case was over, and they stood. Inuyasha gave a confused glance at the concession once he saw it again, wondering how he hadn't noticed that they all came back in, along with cameras and reporters. He waited until the fugitives were out of the room before escorting Kagome along, and found that her side of the room was waiting for her.

They all cheered and whistled and congratulated her as though she'd just aided in the defeat of the most sinister force the country had seen. Halfway down the aisle, though, they were stopped by a little girl wearing a cap backwards. She laughed and thrust out her arms, saying, "I knew it was you!"

And she was looking at Inuyasha. He just stared back for a moment. Then he smiled. "I know you!"

The girl grinned and tugged on her cap. "Your name is Inuyasha, _riiiiight_?"

"Yeah, what of it?"

She giggled and Inuyasha immediately recognized it as the voice that had been giggling during his entire speech at the witness stand. "I still have your hat."

He tugged on his own cap in response. "And you can keep it, I've got another."

Beside him, Kagome laughed softly and leaned against him. "You're good with little girls," she said.

He shrugged. "This one likes me."

This point was proved in entirety when that little girl made a running jump for him and latched her arms around his waist. His face heated up and he knelt down to allow the girl the hug she wanted. It lasted a few seconds before the girl kissed his cheek, backed up and said, "My name is Oishii, Inuyasha-kun." (DL: I made up the name. I didn't know it meant 'delicious'.)

"Pretty name," he observed.

Kagome knelt down next to him. "You got a hug _and_ a kiss. Stud," she teased, pinching his arm.

Oishii made a cute little twirling step and jumped onto the bench nearest her, where a man picked her up, nodded towards Inuyasha, and left out the door.

Inuyasha was still blushing at Kagome's statement. He stood up, crossed his arms, and said, "Feh!"

Kagome stood, too, and grabbed his arm. As they continued on, they developed a crowd, the entire concession following them out with her friends and family closest. Outside, there was a stampede once Kagome was spotted, and all the reporters started shoving to get closer, thrusting their microphones and tape recorders in her face. Inuyasha swiped them away and shoved the reporters, keeping Kagome close to his side with one arm. Her family closed in beside him, helping to hide Kagome from the wild media.

And then he spotted a car in the street and knew immediately that it was going past the 'speed limit'. He ducked down, pulling Kagome down with him, and then heard a barrage of gunfire, recognizing the sound from a 'movie'. However, it was much louder than on the television and he winced at the cracks. Someone screamed and another one yelled, "Where's the police!"

He didn't care where the police were. He couldn't see the car anymore, through the thick forest of human bodies, but he could hear it. "Stay put," he ordered Kagome and leapt up, out of the crowd, being careful about how high he went. He landed on a railing and slid down it. At the bottom he leapt again and landed beside the car just as it was passing. He punched once, hard, at the front right tire, and it popped loudly. Not a second later the vehicle was skidding and the back wheel was within his reach. He stood and kicked the car, making it swerve more.

It did a full one-eighty and he jumped onto the hood and smirked. "That wasn't very nice," he growled out. He shattered the front window with one hit and counted three men inside, two in the back seat. Those two aimed guns at him and started firing.

No chance.

He flipped himself up and over on his hand, landed on the trunk, and smashed through that window, too. He reached inside, grabbed the men's skulls and whacked them together, effectively knocking out both of them with satisfying cracks. The man driving spun in his seat, pulled out another gun and aimed. These 'modern men' just didn't seem to get it.

He jumped and twisted this time, landing crouched on the front hood again.

"Who the fuck is that, Jackie Chan!" the driver swore. The moment the man had the gun aimed at him again, Inuyasha grabbed it and threw it out into the street. Still having the driver's hand in his, he squeezed, crushing many of the bones within and making the driver yelp in pain.

"Inuyasha!"

That was Kagome. He let go and stood up, looking through the crowd for Kagome. She was shoving her way through and ran down the steps towards him, taking the last few in a jump. He hopped off the hood and opened his arms, catching her when she reached him.

"Are you alright?" she asked quickly. "Did they shoot you?"

He snorted. "They couldn't hit their target if they were right up against it."

Okay, an exaggeration, but it made Kagome smile.

The media went into a frenzy. Cameras went everywhere, reporters spat out questions nonstop, people everywhere were vying for attention. Inuyasha had no doubt that they'd filmed his little scene and he'd see it later on during the news. He gave a sharp whistle and gestured the rest of her family over. "Let's get out of here!"

They didn't have to be told twice. They piled back into the car they took to get there and drove back to the shrine before the media could focus entirely on them again and Inuyasha breathed a sigh of relief when he could finally take off the hat. He ears twitched for several minutes afterward, straightening back up after so long of being squashed down by that cap.

Kagome went to take a bath and Inuyasha nearly crowed at the opportunity. He went into her room, turned on the television, and listened to everything carefully. When the portion of the trial came up, the newscaster said many things about it: a little info on the witnesses, a recap of the end of the trial, a few things that happened afterward, the car scene, several interviews, and even where the criminals were going now that they were in custody and sentenced.

Perfect.

****

:End Chapter:

One reviewer said they'd rather read one long chapter about the trial than many short ones, and it seemed like a good idea, so hope you all like the extra 15 kbs. The next few chapters will be the "punishment" delivered by none other than Inuyasha. . . or will it? For this portion I'm going to purposely take it out of Inuyasha's POV to make you guess. Mwa ha ha ha ha! Be assured, those men are going to be tortured to death, but not until the end am I going to tell you "who done it."

Slight side note: Fanfic also has a problem with ? and ! put together. So much for shouted questions. Sorry, fanfic, you'll have to bear with me here. That, or go to mediaminer.

Well, I'm officially an idiot, and I'll tell you why. I said I was leaving on Friday. Nope, I'm leaving tomorrow, on thursday. I had a _fun_ heavy sarcasm experience at the DMV just yesterday, too. I won't go into it. . . But let's just say I didn't get what I wanted yesterday so today's my last chance.

Another thing I wanted to address was a particular review which I got a long time ago and kept forgetting to mention. . . Unfortunately fanfic no longer allows it. You suck, fanfic!

Gee, I hope no administrators were listening. **_:Sweat drop:_**

So, then, evil readers who never review. . . **_:Calls my lightning and PA:_** We shall now torture you all into reviewing, yes, that we shall! Bwa ha ha ha haa!

****

:Gets with the torturing and the hurting and the pain that makes the reviewers scream and cry and then review:

See ya!


	10. Time For Exploring And Schooling

"On the first charge, kidnapping in the second degree, how do you find the defendants?"

"Guilty."

"On the second charge, assault in the first degree, how do you find the defendants?"

"Guilty."

"On the third charge, rape in the first degree, how do you find the defendants?"

"Guilty."

****

:I put it like this cause I bet everyone loved that finding. :

Kagome went to take a bath and Inuyasha nearly crowed at the opportunity. He went into her room, turned on the television, and listened to everything carefully. When the portion of the trial came up, the newscaster said many things about it: a little info on the witnesses, a recap of the end of the trial, a few things that happened afterward, the car scene, several interviews, and even where the criminals were going now that they were in custody and sentenced.

Perfect.

****

AE Forty Two/Seventy Three

Kagome seemed to be in a much better mood when she entered her room than she'd been since he talked her through her dreams. She came in, dressed in her pajamas, her hair still wet and smiling brightly. In slight confusion Inuyasha stood, and she hardly wasted a second in shutting the door before she threw herself into his arms, wrapped her arms around his neck, and stood on her toes to kiss him.

While the kiss was hardly what could be considered unappreciated, he had to ask what the occasion was. But of course, there was that effect her gaze had on him, how her eyes showed her smile as much as her mouth did. It was purely captivating, he couldn't really look away.

"Kagome," he said.

"Hmm?"

"What's with the good mood?" he asked.

She grinned. "We won."

"We won," he repeated.

She nodded and flopped over on her bed. "We won. They're going to prison for years and now I can forget."

So _that_ was her reasoning. Now he felt bad for continuing to think about their slaughters. The last thing he wanted was to distress Kagome, and surely any more media on those vagabonds would definitely remind her of their existence. Damn it.

He sat down with a sigh and stared down at his toenails. Maybe he _should_ forget about them, too. Yeah, their lives were his for what they did to Kagome, but his life was Kagome's. She had more control over him than he liked to admit, but he knew that if she actually said the words - if she told him **not** to kill those bastards - then he wouldn't. Because she said so.

"Inuyasha," she said, and he glanced at her as she sat up.

"Yeah?"

"I want to thank you."

"For what?"

"For everything you said on the stand." She reached over and took his hand, leaving him a small moment to marvel at the feel of her skin on his."For saying that you love me," she went on.

"I only said what was true," he replied, looking away and blushing.

"And _that_ is what makes it better," she said as she leaned into him. "It's kind of interesting, though, the fact that you said it _on the stand_ rather than any time beforehand." She was teasing him again. He recognized that tone.

He smirked at her. "Well, you told me once that knowing it is just as good as saying it. I proved it to you, didn't I?"

Her smile grew soft and she snuggled into his shoulder. "Repeatedly."

Whenever she acted thus he could never resist her. He shifted and brought her into his arms, stroking her hair and smirking at the dampness he found.

"There's another thing," she said as she drew back and looked up at him. "Something else I want to thank you for specifically."

"What'd I do this time?"

She laughed. "You're not in trouble. I wanted to thank you for saying that you weren't planning on killing. . .them."

He glanced away and shrugged.

He could practically feel her grow apprehensive. She went very still and paused for one long moment. "You're not, are you?" she said at length.

He shook his head. "I said I wasn't and I'm not," he assured her.

"Then why won't you look at me?"

"Because you'll see how much I _want_ to kill them."

She turned him towards her. "I know you want to kill them," she told him. "I'm okay with that."

That was a surprise. She was alright with him wanting to kill humans? . . .Wow. "You're. . .okay with that?" he repeated.

She nodded. "I understand you just as much as I love you, Inuyasha. You're just as much a product of your time as I am. Your time's big on revenge."

He couldn't help but laugh. "You're a lot smarter than you act," he teased her. "What's your time big on?"

"Love," she said softly, smiling at him.

"Well that explains a lot."

She giggled. Not a moment later her mother knocked on the door.

"Kagome, dear? Dinner is ready. Come down, both of you."

Kagome smiled. "Dinner time."

****

That Night

It was hard to get to sleep that night. As was his usual, Inuyasha held Kagome close while she slept. But this time, he couldn't get comfortable, and her scent wasn't so soothing. It wasn't easy, staying still like he was. He wanted to do something, anything to burn his energy.

The day had been hectic, to say the least. The trial, what happened after, everything in between; it wracked his nerves. On the one hand, he couldn't just lie here and tap his fingers. On the other, he couldn't get up and leave Kagome without his presence. Not only that, be he didn't _want_ to leave her. He'd already spent two weeks away and he could barely stay away from her for three.

Then again, this _was_ a somewhat perfect opportunity. The sounds of the city had calmed, relaxing now that those bastards were in prison. Everyone was likely sleeping easy, just as Kagome was. If ever there was a better time to explore the city more, he wasn't going to wait to find it.

He drew away from Kagome, being sure to keep her covered and still. He left out the window, shutting it behind him, and took a good whiff.

Where to go first?

After a while he didn't notice where he was, just where he was going. The city looked like on giant maze at night like this. He knew his forest better than any animal that lived within, but this city was so much different. The smells were more muddled, the shadows were shaped different. His hanyou senses gave him superb eyesight at night, but even that was a bit different than usual.

The buildings, the streets, the lights, the parked cars; it all contributed to the maze. As strange as it was, he couldn't help but admire it for its sheer detail. Nothing in his time compared to this. The buildings were huge, the lights were incredibly bright. The streets were some of the finest creations he'd seen yet, completely different from anything in his time. His roads were simply hard-packed over years of trampling on it. These were fashioned, built piece by piece.

And inside of the buildings wow.

He could see through the windows, see the amazing contraptions inside. He read the signs; mechanics, groceries, restaurants, malls, motels, businesses of every kind. It was all incredible. He should go out with Kagome tomorrow and have her explain them, as long as she had nothing else to do, of course.

After a thorough self-guided tour of the city, he came back. Back to Kagome, straight back through the window. Once in, however, he tried to shake off the cool of the night. He patted his sleeves and shook out his hair, hoping to get rid of the chill so it wouldn't bother Kagome. He already had a challenge on his hands, simply to get back into the bed the way he was before he left without waking her. It wouldn't be easy, given that she had been pretty much draped over him in her sleep.

It really _was_ a challenge, crawling back under her in such a way that she wouldn't wake. He seemed to pull it off fairly well, because she only sighed softly and curled a little against his side, tilting her head down a bit.

Problem now was how much sleep he'd get. It was already beginning to dawn, leaving only a few hours before Kagome's mother would wake them up. He sighed, surprised that he still couldn't sleep, but tried not to think about it. He'd probably come to the conclusion that his insomnia had something to do with Kagome, in any case. No use trying to figure it out. He didn't understand a damn thing he felt when it came to Kagome.

He watched the clock, practically counting the seconds as it ticked. Six. Six-fifteen. Seven-twelve. Seven-forty. Tick, tick, tick.

How annoying.

And sure enough, he heard footsteps in another room, Kagome's mother getting things ready to go, her Grandfather going through his chores, Souta already up and likely about to get off to school. It was after he heard Souta leave that Kagome's mother came up the stairs again to knock on Kagome's door.

"Inuyasha?"

She knew he was up. He knew she knew.

"Get Kagome up, please."

"Sure," he said to the door. Why not? He turned on his side and nudged Kagome until she rolled onto her back. "Kagome," he whispered. He rubbed her shoulder and she moaned lightly, turning away from him. She muttered something that was obviously a protest and he chuckled. "Get up, Kagome. Look, it's daylight."

"Daylight can shove it," she murmured.

Well, now. That wasn't something you heard from Kagome often. "Aw, were you having a good dream?"

"Spectacular."

He couldn't tell if her tone was flat or just reluctant. "Really? What was it about?"

She rolled back over and smiled at him. "I think you can take a guess."

"Did I share my ramen?"

She laughed. "You tease too much."

"You taught me how," he returned.

"I teach you too much."

He shrugged. "I had to learn somehow."

She laughed again and sat up. "My dream," she said, "was a memory. I was reliving it."

"What memory?" he asked, getting intrigued.

She grinned. "When you told me you read my story."

"I thought that was embarrassing."

"At the time, yes. But you said nothing about not liking it," she pointed out and poked his chest. "I take that as a good thing."

He smiled back. "It was absolutely horrible. I don't know why I bothered to read the whole thing."

"Liar."

"Prove it."

She gave another laugh and kissed him. "You always lie."

"I do _not_."

"Yes, you do."

"No -"

"Yes, you _do_," she said again, firmer. "I still have the power to 's' you, mister."

"No you don't." He gestured the table beside the bed, where the prayer beads still lay.

"Oh." She kind of giggled. "I forgot about that."

He grinned. "So _that_ means. . ."

She sat up straight. "I don't like that look you've got. . ."

"I could. . . " he went on.

"Nu-uh."

"Do. . ."

"No you can't," she said while backing into the wall.

"This!" he said, and reached out to run his claws along her side.

She laughed instantly and uncontrollably. He continued tickling her, being careful with his claws and laughing himself. This went on for a while, until Kagome lunged herself forward and flipped over the side of the bed, taking him with her. He ended up on top of her, both of them still laughing. After a few moments their laughter faded, followed closely by dual blushes.

And then Mama knocked on the door.

"Kagome, dear, are you alright?" she asked.

Kagome started laughing again.

Knowing full well that she couldn't talk while laughing, Inuyasha got up and said, "We're fine, we just. . .fell out of bed," he finished with a chuckle.

There was a pause. "Yes, well, the breakfast I made for you two is getting cold. Are you coming down or not?"

Crap, he recognized that tone. He said something he shouldn't have. "Yeah, we're coming down," he answered.

"Don't worry, Mama," Kagome said from behind him. "Inuyasha only holds me while I sleep. Nothing happened."

Inuyasha paled. "_That_ was what she was thinking!" he asked sharply, glancing between Kagome and her door.

"That's what you implied," Kagome replied, patting his shoulder.

"How'd I imply that!"

"I'll explain it later. Right now, I'm a little too hungry to bother with you."

She left him sitting there, dumbfounded, trying to figure out he implied that the two of them were actually. . .what was the term Kagome used. . ?

He sighed. "I implied that we were making love cause I said we fell out of bed," he said to himself. _Like there isn't other reasons why we were on the bed in the first place,_ he thought. "Oh well, might as well go eat."

****

Next Day (Out of Inuyasha's POV)

There was a report on the news that Mama caught, something about a break-in at a store. While she thought it was mildly interesting, it certainly didn't thrust out at her. At least, not until they listed off the items stolen. It was a large black trenchcoat, a thick black turtleneck sweater, some rather huge-looking army-issue boots, and what seemed to be really tough-knit black jeans along with a small tube of some black makeup.

The police said they weren't suspecting anything yet, but Mama always knew best. It sounded like somebody was planning on using those items for something devious, hence the monochromatic pattern of the items. They didn't say a thing about how the thief got into the building or how he managed to avoid being seen by the cameras, at least not yet.

But it was breakfast time. She got up and started cooking while simultaneously listening to whatever else the news said. Souta and Grandpa were down at pretty much the same time. Not too long after both were fed, she heard laughter and a thud from upstairs and knew that Kagome and Inuyasha were roughhousing again.

Yesterday Kagome finally agreed to going to a doctor to get a checkup and while it left her shaken, there was positive proof now that she was fine. Her blood test came up negative to any kind of disease or infection, which was really an incredibly wonderful bit of news. Kagome had spent the rest of the day being soothed by Inuyasha, who himself took a quick trip to his time to check up on things around bedtime.

Mama had no idea when he got back, but he seemed rejuvenated enough judging by the almost-controlled laughter from upstairs, so she didn't stress about it.

Kagome and Inuyasha came downstairs just as Souta grabbed his backpack. Being the mother she was, she immediately picked up on Kagome's heartfelt smile and couldn't help smiling back.

"And what did you two break this morning?" she asked.

"Mama," Kagome replied. "Honestly, not to trust us."

"Yeah, we broke something last night," Inuyasha agreed. "Nothing this morning."

"Inuyasha!" Kagome snapped.

"What? It's true."

Kagome sighed.

Mama laughed. "I'll be sure to look your room over just in case," she promised.

"Don't bother," Inuyasha said as he sat down and grabbed his plate. "I already cleaned it up."

"After I practically sat you into it," Kagome pointed out.

"It wasn't _my_ leg that broke it," he defended.

"But it was your fault."

"It was not."

"Yes it was."

"No it -"

"Yes it was."

Inuyasha pouted and then devoted himself to his food as Mama laughed again at their antics. Kagome took her seat beside Inuyasha while Grandpa finished up reading the newspaper thoroughly. Mama set down the last plate of food for Kagome, since Inuyasha had just grabbed the one closest to him, and attuned herself to the News again.

"Did you see this?" Grandpa asked, gesturing one of the pages. "Seems some nut broke into a military store and stole some stuff."

"Military?" Kagome echoed. "What'd he steal, a bazooka?"

Inuyasha coughed on his food. "Ba-zoo-ka," he repeated. "What's that?"

"A large rocket launcher," Mama told him. "I'll see if I can find a video with one in it."

He nodded. "Thanks."

"Actually," Grandpa interrupted, "he stole an outfit, along with face paint and boots."

"What, no dog tags?" Kagome asked.

Inuyasha coughed again. "Dog tags!"

"Everyone in the military wears them in America," Mama informed him. "Around his neck so if he dies in battle, they'll know who he is. His name and regiment are on them."

"What happens if he loses his head?"

"They have another dog tag on a small ring that goes around his toe."

"And if he loses his feet, too?"

"I don't know."

"Inuyasha, shush," Kagome said. "Does it say why he took those things?"

Grandpa shook his head. "They have some theories about it."

"Any idea who did it?"

"Not that they said," Mama interrupted. "It was on the news. They figure it happened early this morning, before three, most likely."

"None of the cameras caught him," Grandpa was saying. "They didn't say how he got in, either."

"The place was supposedly impenetrable," Mama told her. "Whoever got in either had really good tools or knew the way."

"Sounds like the police are going to have their hands full," Kagome observed. "I'll bet this case goes cold within a week."

"Kagome," Mama sighed, "you shouldn't bet about these things."

"Because you never win or because I always do?" Kagome teased.

Mama smiled. "Both and neither. This is serious police work."

"Fueled by some nut? Yeah, they've got their work cut out for them."

Inuyasha laughed. "Who knew you could be this sarcastic?"

"You did," Kagome replied, poking him. "You practically told me I was."

"And you didn't listen until now?"

Mama laughed at them. "Finish eating, both of you," she said as she stood up. "Kagome, tomorrow you're going to start school again. The principal has convinced your teachers and classmates to be especially nice until you get caught up, so you shouldn't have any problem getting notes."

"Thank you, Mama," Kagome said, bowing her head.

"And Inuyasha," Mama went on, "don't you follow her."

"What!" Inuyasha snapped, looking up.

"You can't follow her to school."

"But something could happen!"

"She'll be at school with a thousand others and I can promise you that her friends won't leave her alone. I'll even go pick her up after school."

"But. . ."

"No."

"But she -"

"Inuyasha," Kagome said. "They're in prison. You can relax now."

He sighed, looking down at his plate. "Do I have to?"

"Yes, it's an order."

"Orders my ass," he muttered. He had a look on his face that Mama didn't like, but she had no idea what it meant.

****

At School Next Day

Inuyasha was hard pressed to let her go without him, but eventually he had to give in to save himself a good sitting. Now Kagome was walking to her class, pretty much bodyguarded by her closest friends.

From this time, anyway.

As she sat down in class, her mind wandered to the night Inuyasha left to his time for a bit. She didn't know when he got back, because by that time she'd been asleep, but she woke up cuddled in his arms again so she didn't bother worrying about it. He told her he'd seen Kaede about the prayer beads, who told him they'd work again if he put them back on. Kagome did the liberty of putting them around his neck, but because she knew Kaede didn't tell him the whole truth about it. If Inuyasha had put them back on, they wouldn't have worked for her anymore.

Which Kaede neglected to mention, thank the gods. It was a dirty trick, really, but Kagome had a sneaking suspicion that Inuyasha knew exactly what she did. Hence the little fight they got into as soon as she got them on again which resulted in knocking over her lamp and a few books.

It was actually fun to roughhouse with Inuyasha because he always let her win. They both knew that if he really wanted to win, Kagome really didn't have a prayer without the beads and her arrows. It touched her heart, too, because he always holding himself back. It just proved that much more how he loved her and was so willing to do anything to protect her.

In all honesty, she was shocked that it'd been three days since the trial and those men haven't ended up on the news, dead. It made her trust Inuyasha a bit more, and believe him when he said he wouldn't kill them. At this point, she knew he wanted to slaughter them more than anything else. Well, almost.

He readily admitted he'd rather make her happy than sad, and death always made her sad. Not that she wouldn't feel a certain satisfaction in knowing that her rapists had been killed in horrible, painful ways, but if it was proved that their deaths were a direct result of what they did to her. . .

That was a bit different.

Damn complicated feelings. Yuka poked her in the back and Kagome turned to see her.

"What?"

"Pay attention," Yuka whispered. "You drifted off again."

Kagome smiled. "Just thinking about my rude, possessive, violent boyfriend."

Yuka smiled back. "You forgot loving."

"I didn't forget it. I just failed to mention it."

Yuka giggled.

"Something you wish to share with the class?" the teacher said, an overly tall yet skinny man. "Kagome, Yuka?"

Both girls shook their heads and apologized.

So much for personal thinking, Kagome thought. _I've got to concentrate. Sorry, Inuyasha, I'll just have to save thoughts of you for lunch._

Lunch Break, Cafeteria

Kagome thought. 

Kagome sat in between Yuka and Eri with Ayumi in front of her. They chatted back and forth and admitted that they were wrong about Inuyasha, at least in part. Kagome accepted their apologies readily and told them all about his good qualities. How incredibly loyal and trustworthy he was, his disregard for his safety in proportion to how far into trouble she got, his determination.

She told them specifically about his immense sense of justice and good will. She couldn't count all the times he went out on a limb for somebody else, or how many times he came running at the sound of a call for help. It was who he was, despite how much he tried to hide it or deny it.

All three girls stared at her in awe once she finished. Ayumi - who tended to agree with her in any case - smiled broadly and looked like she was falling in love.

"He's really that great?" she asked.

Kagome smiled. "Once you get to know him. He doesn't let you know a thing about him until he trusts you, which takes a while. He still hasn't told me about his mother."

"What's wrong with his mother?" Eri asked.

"Well, she died when he was very young," Kagome told them. "I don't think he ever got over it. Myouga said she was a real beauty and never let Inuyasha think he was in any way wrong."

"Myouga?" Yuka echoed.

"Myouga's kind of like Inuyasha's vassal," Kagome tried, unsure how to explain it. "Usually when Inuyasha gets in a jam, Myouga can help him out. He knows a lot, but he's a total coward and never gets in a battle."

"Inuyasha is?"

"No," Kagome laughed. "Myouga's the coward. We tease him about it all the time."

"Kagome-san?"

She looked up. "Oh, Hojo-kun. Hi."

He glanced at the girls. "Can I sit down?"

"The only space is beside Ayumi," Kagome said, gesturing the spot. Ayumi scooted over to let Hojo take a seat.

"Kagome-san, I. . .don't really know how to say this," Hojo began.

"I'm sorry," Kagome said. "I should have told you about Inuyasha."

He shook his head. "I should have read your hints. All those times you were absent. . .they weren't because you were sick, were they?"

Oh, boy. "Not all of them, no." Understatement of the year.

"You skipped school to see him."

"Sort of." When did Hojo become perceptive?

"You love him, don't you?"

"Completely." At least that part was totally true.

Hojo dropped his head. "Did you ever use the stuff I gave you?"

"Some of it." That was true, too.

A pause had gone over their table and a few ones close to them. Every girl was watching Hojo and Kagome, and more than a few boys.

"So I never had a chance," Hojo finished.

"No, Hojo, you had a big chance," Kagome replied. "If Inuyasha had never made a move, I would've chosen you."

"Over Inuyasha _and_ Kouga?" Eri asked.

"Hush," Kagome hissed at her.

Eri winced. "Sorry."

"Kouga?" Hojo asked.

Kagome shrugged. "He's from where Inuyasha's from. He claims to love me, too."

"So you had three suitors?"

"Essentially."

"Essentially?" Hojo echoed. "Did you or didn't you?"

Kagome glanced away. "Well. . ."

"Four," Yuka said. "Remember Miroku?"

Kagome winced. "Miroku doesn't really count."

"But he asked you to bear his child," Ayumi pointed out.

"But like I said, he asks all girls that," Kagome shot back. "He's not very particular as long as she's pretty."

"A total lecher," Eri agreed.

"Well, his hands do tend to wander. . ."

Hojo looked horrified. "Four, then. And Inuyasha was best to you?"

"Well, no," Kagome replied. "Everybody had their better qualities, it's just. . ."

"Just what?"

"I always knew I loved Inuyasha, of all of you," she admitted.

"You said nothing but bad things about him," Yuka pointed out.

"That's because he always argued about my going to school," Kagome told her. "So at school I was always in a bad mood about him. You weren't there the rest of the time, you didn't see all of his good points."

Hojo was staring at the table. "Are you going to marry him?"

She blushed. "I was hoping, but I'm not sure he'll see it as necessary."

"How is it not necessary?"

"He lives by a different set of rules. I suppose he would go through the marriage if I wanted him to, but I'm sure I'd get an earful about how it didn't matter first."

The bell rang then, saving them any further talk about marriage and Inuyasha and Hojo's broken heart. He looked heartbroken, anyway. He slumped his shoulders as he walked and Kagome realized he really thought she was right for him. Her heart went out to him and she spared a moment in her math class to pray for him, hoping he found the woman for him very soon.

It was the least she could do after letting him continue his affections, even though she knew all along that she didn't want to be with him.

****

:End Chapter:

I'm sure you're all wondering about the delay. Well, as it turns out, I had absolutely no computer access yesterday, at all. Which is funny because I encountered four of them. So naturally, I couldn't get online to update. Sorry about that but you can be sure that I'll keep to my schedule as best I can. Not too much longer now and I'll have finished the next chapter and it'll be up and those of you who're reading this for the second and/or third time, can breath a sigh of relief.

Well, there ya have it. What exactly do you have? I have no idea. XD

In any case, here we have the next chapter. I tried to make it funny everywhere I could so the serious parts wouldn't be too serious. I hate it when my reviewers tell me they cried. Makes me all sad.

:'( I didn't mean to make you cry! **_:Cries:_**

Okay, back to the point. What was my point? . . . . . .You don't know, either? Well, now we're on the same page. . . . . . .Same page of what? Some book, I guess. I never bothered to look it up, ya know. . . . .You don't know? Seriously, I need a better talking partner than Muse.

Who's Muse? Gee, guess. He's a cat-man in my head, usually in chibi form. He's pretty damn hot, if I don't say so myself. ;-)

Yet I did say so myself. . .who invented that phrase?

Sorry, rambling. I do that in case you haven't noticed. Eh heh.

Well, for today I'm pretty much clueless about how to threaten you, so I'll let my PA do it for me. Attack, my pretties! **_:Insane cackle:_** Mwa ha ha ha haaa!

**Naraku:** Ku ku ku ku ku! **_:Swipes at pedestrians:_ **

**Me:** Naraku! How'd you get out? Where's your chain?

**Naraku: _:Looks around:_** You took it off me?

**Me:** I did not you liar! _**:Chains him back up in my backyard:**_ Now stay, boy!

**Naraku: _:Cries:_** This is unjust! Unjust I say!

**Me:** Tell it to the judge.

**Naraku:** I was.** _:Points at a judge:_**

**Me:** What the - when'd we get in a courtroom?

**Naraku:** Some time ago. Ahem! _**:Straightens his papers and starts accusing me of stuff:**_

**Me:** Well dang it. See ya! _**:Waves while handcuffed:**_


	11. Revenge Is Sweet

She giggled. Not a moment later her mother knocked on the door.

"Kagome, dear? Dinner is ready. Come down, both of you."

Kagome smiled. "Dinner time."

****

That Night

She left him sitting there, dumbfounded, trying to figure out he implied that the two of them were actually. . .what was the term Kagome used. . ?

He sighed. "I implied that we were making love cause I said we fell out of bed," he said to himself. _Like there isn't other reasons why we were on the bed in the first place,_ he thought. "Oh well, might as well go eat."

****

Next Day (Out of Inuyasha's POV)

He sighed, looking down at his plate. "Do I have to?"

"Yes, it's an order."

"Orders my ass," he muttered. He had a look on his face that Mama didn't like, but she had no idea what it meant.

****

At School Next Day

"Something you wish to share with the class?" the teacher said, an overly tall yet skinny man. "Kagome, Yuka?"

Both girls shook their heads and apologized.

So much for personal thinking, Kagome thought. _I've got to concentrate. Sorry, Inuyasha, I'll just have to save thoughts of you for lunch. _

Lunch Break, Cafeteria

Kagome thought. 

The bell rang then, saving them any further talk about marriage and Inuyasha and Hojo's broken heart. He looked heartbroken, anyway. He slumped his shoulders as he walked and Kagome realized he really thought she was right for him. Her heart went out to him and she spared a moment in her math class to pray for him, hoping he found the woman for him very soon.

It was the least she could do after letting him continue his affections, even though she knew all along that she didn't want to be with him.

****

AE Forty Three

It was easy after that first day of school back, getting back into the old routine. The teachers became so compassionate that they became lenient, and resolved to let Kagome out early if she so asked, and didn't ask questions if she was absent one day. Kagome knew this because after four days of school, of notes and lectures and friends who never let her out of their sight, she went back to Inuyasha's time with him.

His time felt different than it had before. All at once it became clear to her just how dangerous his time could be. She felt an instant, uncomprehensible and incorrigible fear the moment Kaede's village came into sight. Because of this, Inuyasha kept her in hiding the entire time. Also because of this, she left after two days instead of four, and had to spend a day in bed to remain calm.

That's when her mother told her that when Kagome didn't show up for her first class, her teacher called about it. He asked if her 'incident' was bothering her, in which case she didn't have to come; he could send someone there after school with her work. Mama and Gramps gladly accepted the reasoning and Yuka stopped by after school with all her work for that day.

Thus began a new routine. Mama would excuse Kagome for not coming downstairs to see Yuka each day by saying that she had a nightmare and wouldn't leave her room. She excused Yuka from coming upstairs by saying that Inuyasha would let no one in. Both excuses were bought without question and Yuka gladly left notes behind for Kagome, both of schoolwork and personal from her friends.

Kagome had a nice time reading all the notes, since there was one from each of her friends from all three missed days, and a few others from worried classmates of which Kagome had no mental pictures.

On her fifth day back, she left for school as usual, walking and meeting up with Eri along the way.

Inuyasha remained at her house, fidgeting, with Mama and Gramps. The phone rang this morning, so Mama went to answer it.

It was Yuka and Ayumi, both of them snapping into the phone at once. At first Mama couldn't make out what they were saying, but then she picked up bits and pieces. "Social disaster; don't let her come; take her home; stop her," et cetera. Mama didn't know what was going on, but she sent Inuyasha off to stop Kagome and bring her back anyway.

"You two calm down," she said into the phone. "I sent Inuyasha to get Kagome, now tell me what happened."

"Some messed with a picture!" one of them squealed; probably Yuka. Ayumi didn't really 'squeal'.

"What do you mean?" Mama asked.

"There was this picture the boys were passing around a few weeks ago," Ayumi explained in a calmer voice. "It was this naked woman in a sexy pose. Someone took it and plastered Kagome's face on it."

Mama almost dropped the phone. "Why would someone do that to Kagome!" she asked aloud, truly befuddled.

"I don't know!" Yuka snapped. "Oh, I see Kagome!"

"Kagome!" both girls yelled.

Faintly, in the background, Mama heard Kagome, "What's going on you two?"

"Wait, Kagome," Inuyasha's voice sounded. "Get back here!"

My, he's fast, Mama thought.

At this point so many voices talked amongst each other that Mama couldn't hear a thing. Trying to be as polite as ever, she said, "Goodbye," and hung up. Now all she had to do was wait.

Kagome was back within minutes, a little red-faced, but that was obviously from exertion. Yuka, Eri and Ayumi flanked Kagome with Inuyasha leading. His fist was clenched around a thick-looking piece of paper. He slammed his fist into the table when he reached it and let go.

And Kagome saw the image for the first time. She gasped, covered her mouth, then narrowed her eyes. In one sweep she snatched up the picture and began ripping it into tiny pieces.

Seeing as how Inuyasha hadn't flipped about it, he knew it technically wasn't her. Ayumi had a yearbook with her, which came out not two weeks ago. She had her finger in a page and flipped it open. Kagome's picture was circled, and it perfectly matched the image of her head on the picture that was now in many tiny pieces.

Inuyasha sat on the stairs, folded his arms, and stared at his toes, jaw clenched.

Mama took the momentary silence to look over everyone.

Ayumi, who had a soft voice, childish thoughts and long wavy hair, looked solemn and was staring at her feet. Yuka, who had shorter hair and always jumped to conclusions, had bit her lip and was looking at the back of Kagome's head. Eri, who had the shortest hair of the three along with a yellow band holding her hair back and was by far the most outspoken of the three, could only stare at her feet in stunned silence. Kagome herself looked ready to kill. She was staring at her own image in the yearbook, taken at the beginning of the year. In the picture she was smiling sweetly, which must have been a stretch considering by that time she was routinely going through times and stressing in both. Gramps didn't look like he'd be able to move for a while, but he got up and left within another few moments, and didn't come back or say a word. Mama looked again at Inuyasha, and this time he was flexing his jaw, continually clenching and relaxing the muscles. His ear flicked, which Mama just now realized was out for the world to see.

Mama herself couldn't believe what had just happened. That wasn't Kagome's body in the picture; her scar was missing. The scar just above her left hip, the first scar of her life. There was a maternal outrage coursing through her at the moment, one telling her to hunt down the man responsible for trying - if vainly - to expose her daughter, to embarrass her and make her hide.

As Mama looked again at Kagome, she could see that whomever fixed that picture did not get their desired results. Mama had never seen such rage in Kagome's eyes, such unbridled fury. The thinking behind the perp was probably that she would stay home again, hide in her hole with Inuyasha guarding her as always. They was an opposite effect taking place within Kagome.

Mama watched as Kagome's eyes hardened with determination, and she lifted her chin. She turned to Inuyasha.

"Change your clothes," she said. "You're coming to school with me."

He didn't argue. He went right upstairs and into someone's room to do as she said.

Then Kagome turned to her friends. "The three of you need to get angry," she coached. "We're fighting this; all of us."

"Can I join your party?" another voice asked.

Mama looked that way and saw Hojo. He, too, was clutching a yearbook. It seemed he marked the same page as Ayumi did.

He stepped inside. "I know it wasn't you," he said to Kagome. There was a lot of anger in his eyes, too. "I won't let whoever did this get away with it."

Kagome waited a moment before nodding. "You can join us. We're waiting on Inuyasha."

"I thought he'd come," Hojo said and came closer, "so I brought him something."

That was a bit of a shock. Mama watched as Hojo came up to Kagome and handed her a parcel. She opened it, and inside was smooth black cloth; that of the typical male high school student uniform. And Kagome smiled.

"Thanks, but I doubt he'd wear it," she said, giving it back.

"Wear what?" Inuyasha asked, making it back downstairs. He wore a grey shirt and black jeans, and a black cap.

"Hojo brought you a uniform," Kagome explained. "That outfit all the men wear at my school."

Inuyasha glanced down at himself. "Would I have to wear it?"

"Not if you don't want to."

"Is it more comfortable?"

"It's softer than jeans," Hojo told him. "A bit looser than what you're. . .ah. . .wearing."

"Let me see it," Inuyasha ordered, holding out his hand. He poked it, pet it, turned it over, and even sniffed it. "Smells like you," he said, looking up at Hojo.

"It's mine, but I washed it before I came here," Hojo replied.

Inuyasha shook his head. "You keep it," he said, handing it back. "Now are we leaving or what?"

"You're not wearing any shoes," Kagome pointed out.

Mama, like everyone else in the room, glanced down.

"Yeah, so?"

Kagome shrugged. "For you, it's alright. Now let's go."

They all left together, looking like a miniature army. Four girls, two boys, all revenge. Mama almost hummed a revolutionary song as they left, thinking it might have helped edge them on.

After all, was Kagome ever a person to back down? Even before the Well, Mama never knew a time in which Kagome didn't rise to a challenge, and this day, she got one heck of an invite.

****

That Night

In the dead of the night, the darkest part of the day, nothing seemed alive. In a high-security penitentiary, on the outskirts of Japan, men slept in their minuscule cells, with tight bars on their doors and a camera in each room. Dozens more cameras were placed at clever intervals along the walls and ceiling, placed in specific places to look in on specific known blind spots.

This particular prison had five levels of cells, each accessed by stairs alone. The far wall was empty of anything, excepting small paned glass windows along the top. None of these windows exceeded two feet wide and one foot tall, and windows of that size were limited. The windows were built with a pattern: small, small, moderate, small, small, largest, small, small, small. The pattern reversed itself three times to fit the rest of the wall, where it ended. These windows were meant to allow small amounts of light from the stars and moon; just enough so that each camera could see and each man could stumble his way to his toilet if he had to go in the dead of night.

What the cameras could not see was something up near those windows, a form so shadowed you could not see what it was. A breeze blew past the window yet nothing about the figure stirred, not a wisp of hair or a ruffle of clothing. The only way it could be there, on the window, was if it had a ladder or was clinging to the wall somehow. The walls were made specifically smooth to give no finger holds whatsoever.

It had to be using a ladder.

The figure did not move in the slightest, though a flicker of gold shown from it, proving it was alive, it could move; it was moving. Yet nothing _did_ move, save for that flicker of gold in the deep shadows that huddled the figure, embraced it as though darkness and it were one. That flicker stopped and held for a long moment after several minutes, and finally the figure moved.

A limb stretched upwards; something circular extended from that limb; five much smaller extremities extended as well. An arm, a hand; it clenched the top of the pane of glass, bent the iron bars that held it in place, tilted the window. The shadowy figure, now having an entrance, slipped inside. It clung to the wall and flipped over; it let go and fell silently, were it not for the rustle of clothes. Upon touching ground, it was once again part of the shadows, discernable only by the motion of that flicker of gold.

That flicker moved towards the stairs slowly, patiently, staying close to the walls and out of sight of the cameras.

This figure had a particular usage for those cameras, but not yet; they couldn't see it. . .yet. It did not climb the stairs, for the cameras watched the stairs. It stood at the edge of the line of cells, and that flicker lifted upwards. The shadowy figure leapt, making it all the way to the forth level, looking like nothing more than a shadow itself. It perched upon the railing just in front of one cell, and that flicker of gold pointed directly at the sleeping figure within.

The shadow waited there, waiting patiently for its prey to awaken, to feel that it was gazing at him, waiting for him, watching him. The man huddled within his own flimsy blanket stirred and rolled over, revealing a harsh face, even as he slept. His hair was a wavy mess, his face was uncut and bushy, he looked as dirty as though he had never taken a bath in his life, in spite of the fact that the prisoners were forced to wash every day.

Dull, black eyes opened and the man sat up, looking carefully around. He could not see the shadow crouched on the railing mere feet from him, so dark was it. But the figure could see him easily. The man threw off his cover and stood, wobbly, waking in wariness and slight fear. He glanced in every direction, reached out to trace his fingers along the wall; he did not know the shadow was outside of his reach.

He traced each wall, felt every line and curve of his tiny cell, looking for what it was that frightened him into waking. He could feel nothing, could hear nothing, could see nothing out of place. As the seconds ticked by that figure remained motionless, the tiny flicker of gold following every move the criminal made. Minutes passed slowly for them both, punctuated by frightened breaths and a few stumbling motions as the man began to panic, as his hands began to shake. He found his bed again, and the figure watched as he lay down and brought the covers over his own head.

Still the figure did not move, did not twitch; it simply stayed there, draped in darkness, and watched silently as its prey huddled and panted under the covers. The figure of the man was shaking, becoming only more frightened as the figure remained unmoving, simply staring. And finally, after much time and remaining motionless and driving true fear into the heart of its prey, the figure moved.

It leaned forward and slipped off the railing. Standing, it had the form of a man, wearing a heavy, loose coat. In the slight moonlight one could make out details, a slight shine on thick gloves, tall and heavy boots, with short hair that was lifted in every direction at the front. It went up to the bars and touched one, making a slightly squeaking sound as plastic-like cloth met steel. Its hands lifted again, putting its arm through the thin bars. It lifted a leg and put that limb through the bars as well. With hardly a sound, it went directly between the bars - bars made too close to allow a man to fit through - and stood now on the inside of the cell.

It lowered its head at the man, then opened its coat. It took out a slim sheet of paper, marked with a few simple kanji, and turned to the bars. It pressed the paper against the bars and instantly a light blue shimmer went up; the paper stuck and the shimmer stopped. The figure turned to the wall opposite the bed and placed another paper against that wall, its kanji perfectly mimicking that of the first slip of paper. Again, a blue shimmer went up and faded, and the paper stuck to the wall.

The dark figure repeated this motion for the remaining two walls, stopping standing above the shaking man underneath his blankets. It turned away again, moving as slowly and patiently as ever. It stood beneath the camera, which was still blinking a tiny red light. Keeping its head down, the figure reached up and flicked the camera, and the red light stopped.

The figure knew what it was doing. It had gone through a lot of trouble to wait for this night, to prepare for this singular moment.

It stepped beside the bed, where the man underneath was now whimpering in his fear, hardly stopping himself from relieving himself where he was. The figure lifted its hands and flexed its fingers, and pure white tips extended from the tip of each gloved finger. Each was sharp, deadly; instruments of killing and sparring. It reached down now, grasped the coverlet, and pulled it off, still slow and patient.

There was no way its prey could get away from it now. It had been waiting for this day for a long, long time, and this man was only the first to pay his retribution with his life.

The man yelped loudly as the blanket was drawn away from his body, and clutched his own legs before trying to scramble backwards. Eyes wide, lips trembling, he looked desperately for the figure which took his only form of defense. He could see nothing in the darkness, and the figure remained silent. The man tumbled out of his miniature bed, making a ruckus in the meantime. The figure moved only its head, watching with a satisfied air as the man shook and scurried, trying to get away from what he could never escape.

A judge sentenced him. A jury convicted him. He, the ring leader, the one who chose what to do, who to kill, whose life to destroy, how they would take away the world's hope piece by piece; it was him that gained a full five consecutive life sentences, doomed without the possibility of probation, destined to die in his own cell from the life he created, because of the lives he dismantled.

This figure knew his name, this now pitiful man who once stroke fear into people with simple looks, this man who now was scared for his life and shouting for the guards who would never hear him. This man who chose to steal, murder and rape; his name was Hisochane Ishi.

And the figure who watched him was his executioner.

****

Next Morning

After an incredible ordeal in which Kagome, Inuyasha and her friends skipped their classes to figure out who altered that picture, they were close to finding out who did it. All of them researched and talked to students, traced the picture back as far as the line went. Inuyasha as always stayed with Kagome, and at times when they weren't getting answers, Kagome gave him permission to scare the piss out of the students who weren't talking.

It was easy for Inuyasha. Lift the kid by his neck, shake him, drop him, hit the wall beside his head and leave frighteningly deep dents, simply flex and watch as the boys widened their eyes to the incredibly loud pops in his knuckles. Even smirking and chuckling dangerously did it at times. One particular boy wouldn't say a word until Inuyasha threw him across a hallway, making him slide along the floor more than forty feet. Inuyasha had then leapt and landed standing with a foot on either side of the kid's head, glaring down at him with his arms crossed.

That boy popped and gave up an amazing amount of information.

Kagome met with the rest of their group after school, and found that each of that had skipped _all_ of their classes, searching. All of the boys in school, all day long, kept their mouths shut when Kagome walked by, Inuyasha almost plastered to her back. The first boy that whistled and winked almost lost an eye, and went home early with a broken hand.

When Kagome returned home, information written down and Xeroxed for all of them, she patted Inuyasha and kissed him, telling him he did a wonderful job. Dinner that night was pleasing, and Kagome specifically asked for ramen to give to Inuyasha as a treat for, "doing only what I asked" all day. His tendency for violence was completely overlooked because of his obeying her every command, harming people only when she allowed him to. And she took just as much satisfaction in watching them squirm as Inuyasha did.

That night found them asleep snuggled with one another. Kagome's dreams were pleasant thoughts of the pain Inuyasha would inflict upon the man or men that decided it was funny to try to screw with her.

The morning wasn't quite so lovely. Mama answered the door, still pleased with the amount of information Kagome and her friends managed to track down, when she heard someone knock. Opening the door showed local law enforcement, who immediately asked the whereabouts of Kagome's bodyguard, Inuyasha.

Mama didn't answer at first. "Why do you want to know?" she asked.

The officers looked at one another and asked for entrance inside. They turned on her television to the local news, where it showed a woman giving the news.

" - still have yet to issue a report about the situation," she was saying. "Once again, it was found this morning in our own Shinomu penitentiary, a guard discovered the horribly tortured and mangled body of inmate Hisochane Ishi. The guards and inmates heard nothing the entire night. Two cameras were positioned to see within his cell the entire time, yet the one outside his cell could pick up no sound, and the one within could see nothing. It is the speculation of this station that the perpetrator managed to cut the sound from the outside camera and cover the sight of the inner one. It is still unexplained why no one heard anything. The police have yet to release the taping of the murder to the press -"

One officer turned off the television again. "That is why we must see this 'Inuyasha'."

Mama wet her lips. "He should still be asleep upstairs."

"We must speak with him," the other officer told her. "At the moment we have all of our officers scouring for the perpetrator, of which Inuyasha is a suspect."

Mama paused a moment. "I'll wake him. But he'll probably be grumpy," she added as she began climbing the stairs. "He doesn't like it when I wake him up before Kagome does."

"Wait," an officer said at the bottom of the stairs. "He wakes with Kagome-san?"

"Yes," Mama said. "He sleeps in her room with her. It keeps her calm," she added to keep it from sounding ecchi. She knocked on Kagome's door lightly. "Inuyasha," she said softly, knowing he'd hear. "You have to come out for a moment."

She heard nothing from the inside, but sure enough, the door opened and Inuyasha stepped out. He shut the door behind him. "What did you wake me for?" he asked, quietly but pissed as ever.

"Hide your ears," she hissed. Louder, she added, "The police are here to ask you a few questions."

Inuyasha yawned, but it looked purposely. "Alright, let me get ready," he said, but it was a line she had told him to say in such situations. He went back into the room as Mama went back downstairs.

"Did you two hear any of that?" she asked.

They nodded. "We'll wait in the living room for him," one said. Both of them sat on the couch and waited.

Not much longer and Inuyasha came down, wearing a shirt, jeans and a hat. Mama gestured him into the living room and he stood, lounging in the doorway. He crossed his arms. "Yeah? I hear you wanted to talk to me."

The officers stood, seeing as how Inuyasha was. "Where were you last night?"

"Here," he replied smoothly.

"For how long?"

"All night."

"Can anyone cooberate that?"

Inuyasha blinked and looked in question at Mama.

She smiled. "It means can anyone agree that you were here."

"Oh," he said. He nodded. "Let's see, there's Kagome, Higurashi-kaa-san, the old man, and Souta," he added as he ticked off his fingers.

Mama blushed slightly as Inuyasha called her Higurashi-kaa-san, and touched his shoulder in approval. He smiled at her.

An officer wrote down what he said and the other explained why they were here. As he did so, Inuyasha's eyes slowly narrowed farther and farther, and a soft sound began at the back of his throat. He interrupted as the officer was nearly finished.

"Why the fuck would I care about his death!" he snapped. "He deserved it more than anybody else," he added in a snarl. "You want to know who did it? Why not think of an avenging angel out to punish him! You ever think of that!"

"Inuyasha," Mama hissed. "You're only incriminating yourself."

He looked like he didn't know that word, but understood what she meant.

"We understand your anger," the officer taking notes said. "But whether or not he was evil doesn't matter. He was still murdered, and it's our job to find out who. The last thing we want is to leave it alone, only to find than an even worse man killed him and was on a rampage."

Inuyasha blinked. "Why would they start with existing criminal if they wanted to be one?"

"To pretend to be an 'avenging angel'," the other officer told him. "Because that man double-crossed him. So he could see if he was worse; who knows. They could be a million reasons behind it, and each could be wrong. Still, we can't take that chance. Now, either you can help us by eliminating yourself as a suspect, or you can hinder us by incriminating yourself if you aren't the one."

"Well, I'm not," Inuyasha said harshly. "I may have hated the guy, but Kagome doesn't want me to kill him -"

"There was a message," one of them interrupted. "Carved into the wall, the only wall not completely covered in the dead man's own blood."

"What's going on?"

Mama turned to the kitchen and smiled at her daughter. "It may not be something you want to hear this early in the morning," she began.

Inuyasha glanced at Kagome, and Mama couldn't read the look in his eye. He wet his lips and stood up straight, uncrossing his arms. "What did the message say?" he asked.

The officer lifted his chin. " 'He touched her first'."

****

:End Chapter:

In the original chapter I actually had a totally different idea for this part, one where Kagome and Kikyo talked for a long time and then Kagome told Inuyasha all about Golden Birthdays. . .I'll get around to it eventually.

But I figure this way is better. The police have an investigation, and now, so does Kagome and Inuyasha. Who else wants to see her Sherlock Holmes skills? Hehehehe.

Sorry about the picture thing. The picture, in my mind, had a woman sitting on her knees with her arms behind her head. See, sexy yet not raunchy. I know it's so mean, fiddling with Kagome like that. But come on, she told Inuyasha not to kill those guys. He has a lot of pent-up violence he needs to. . .indulge in. XD

Until next chapter, try not to jump to conclusions about this one. I'll bet most of you are already seeing the theme coming, what with the message carved into the wall. Many of you will think it was Inuyasha, a few of you may think it's Sesshomaru, an assassin, or possibly a child or descendant of either brother. Guess all you like; I have a set ending for these deaths.

One of the more recently suggested weapons was prayer beads like Inuyasha's. While I like the idea, I must change it ever-so-slightly. . .

_**:Throws Prayer Bead necklaces, bracelets, anklets and rings around various non-reviewers:**_ Now you see, I can give each of you a nifty command, such as this. . .

**_:Brings out Sesshomaru who's wearing prayer beads:_** Go for it, Kagome.

**Kagome:** Pig.

**Sess:** I despise you.** _:POIT! Changed into a pig:_**

**Kagome:** Lantern.

**Sess:** Kwee!** _:POIT! A lantern:_**

**Kagome:** Puppy.

**Sess: _:POIT! A puppy:_ **

**Kagome:** Sexy catgirl.

**Sess:** O.O _**:POIT! A sexy catgirl, looks around nervously:**_ Change me back, human. . . now.

**Kagome:** Nah, I like you like that.

**Fanboys: **A catgirl!** _:Charge at Sess thinking it's not him:_ **

**Sess:** I will have revenge!** _:Runs for it:_ **

**Me:** Fear me. I can and will do these things to you.

See ya!


	12. The Other Side Of Pain

They all left together, looking like a miniature army. Four girls, two boys, all revenge. Mama almost hummed a revolutionary song as they left, thinking it might have helped edge them on.

After all, was Kagome ever a person to back down? Even before the Well, Mama never knew a time in which Kagome didn't rise to a challenge, and this day, she got one heck of an invite.

****

That Night

A judge sentenced him. A jury convicted him. He, the ring leader, the one who chose what to do, who to kill, whose life to destroy, how they would take away the world's hope piece by piece; it was him that gained a full five consecutive life sentences, doomed without the possibility of probation, destined to die in his own cell from the life he created, because of the lives he dismantled.

This figure knew his name, this now pitiful man who once stroke fear into people with simple looks, this man who now was scared for his life and shouting for the guards who would never hear him. This man who chose to steal, murder and rape; his name was Hisochane Ishi.

And the figure who watched him was his executioner.

****

Next Morning

Inuyasha glanced at Kagome, and Mama couldn't read the look in his eye. He wet his lips and stood up straight, uncrossing his arms. "What did the message say?" he asked.

The officer lifted his chin. " 'He touched her first'."

****

AE Forty Four

The officers left shortly after, after Inuyasha felt he was being told everything the police were allowed to say. Kagome remained quiet through the entire conversation, while Mama tried her best to make use of her time and make breakfast for her family.

Once the officers were gone, Mama glanced into the living room to find Kagome staring at Inuyasha, who was staring right back.

"What did you do?" Kagome asked, quietly.

Inuyasha blinked. "You can't honestly believe I did that," he replied, gesturing the door.

"Tell me who could've done it, if it wasn't you," Kagome snapped.

He stood up. "I don't know, but I thought you'd be glad the bastard was dead!"

"He was sentenced! Our justice system put him away for his life five times over! To me, he already _was_ dead!"

"Well, now he's dead to everyone else!" Inuyasha snarled.

Kagome gasped and stepped back, lifting her hand to cover her mouth.

What Mama saw then was impossible. There was hurt and distrust in Kagome's eyes, and betrayal in Inuyasha's. Kagome looked away from Inuyasha, and Inuyasha stared at the floor instead of at Kagome. Neither moved for a long moment, and then Kagome walked into the kitchen. Inuyasha went straight for the door.

"Where are you going?" Mama asked him.

"Back home," he replied, but his voice was low and dull. . . almost dead.

And Kagome didn't say a word or make a move to stop him.

****

Inuyasha

He couldn't believe it. Kagome thought he killed the bastard.

Not that he wouldn't have loved to, but he hadn't. And she wouldn't believe him that he didn't. Didn't she know that at this point, he'd do whatever she said, no matter what it was? Even if she didn't ask him with words; he couldn't help it.

He walked out to the well and sat on it. He said he was going home, but in his mind, he already _was_ home. Wherever Kagome was, was his home.

She didn't seem to know that, either.

He didn't understand why she couldn't believe him. He hadn't said a single lie to her in months; she had to know _that_, at least. But still, she seemed so sure that he was the murderer behind the crime. And since when was killing a killer a murder? Nothing even close to that existed in his time.

His time. Her time. His rules. Her rules. His ideals. Her ideals.

And to think, things used to be **simple**. Sure, things were easier now, more at peace since Naraku was killed, but with his relationship with Kagome. . . it seemed like the troubles were just beginning. Worst part was how incredibly difficult their troubles were so far.

He realized, as he sat there, that there were still a lot of unanswered questions behind Kagome's story. Mainly why Naraku lived in her story, when they killed him more than three moons ago. Why she stated that she had half the jewel and Naraku had half, when that was never the case. Why she gave herself a tail, as well.

He chuckled. Maybe that made sense to her: half dog demon, dog ears, dog tail. Yet she chose to be a wolf, not a dog. He was sure that she chose a wolf because it was wilder than dogs. Sweet, composed Kagome, a wild half-wolf demon. Heh.

He leaned back on the lip of the well and allowed himself a laugh. It was an appealing thought; he'd give her that. But. . . .

But that still didn't exactly answer the question he asked her so long ago. Why did she choose to be a half demon in her story, to give herself such a background?

And why the fuck did she have to make him seem so helpless, being captured and beaten? Just so she could nurse him back to health again?

He was letting himself get distracted, he knew that, but maybe that was a good idea. If he could distract Kagome from thoughts of Hisochane's death, maybe she would stop thinking of him as the killer?

It was worth a shot. So he stood up and went back inside, finding Kagome's mother still pottering about the kitchen. Kagome was nowhere to be seen, but he could hear water running upstairs.

"She went upstairs for a bath," Mama told him.

He nodded. "I guessed. Hey, Kaa-san," he added, sitting down.

She blushed and smiled at him. "What is it?"

"Do you think I did it?"

He recognized that smile, that sweet, maternal, I'll-always-believe-you smile. It was exactly how his own mother used to smile at him.

"I think you wanted to do it, I think you wish you could have, but no, I don't think you did," she replied.

He dropped his head onto his hands on the table. "So why can't Kagome believe me?"

"Her emotions are confusing her," Mama explained and sat opposite him. "You've always been there to help her, and right now, the help she needs is someone to blame. Why do you think she picked you?"

He looked up at Mama and shook his head.

"She picked you because she hoped you'd accept the blame. Whether or not you didn't do it isn't the issue for her. It's whether or not you'll let her blame you until she gets the answers she needs."

"What answers?"

"Who really did it and why. Deep down, she knows it wasn't you, but you have to admit, a lot of evidence points to you."

"About as much evidence as points to someone else," he pointed out, lifting his head. "I don't have the clothes those guys described, and they said the guy that did it had really short hair." He ended his speech by pointing at his head.

Mama was still smiling at him, and stood up again. "Kagome needs you right now, more than ever," she finished. She turned her back to him and pottered around more.

Inuyasha stared at her back a moment and then looked down. Kagome _needed_ him. He knew that, of course. He saw it in her eyes while they argued. It was obvious; she didn't want to remember those men, not in any form of the word. If it were possible, he'd blank out that part of her memory.

Considering that was out of his ability, he'd have to do something that _was_ in his ability. He got up and started up the stairs.

Kagome told him often that she didn't like it when he stared at her for long periods of time, nor did she let him sit in the bathroom with her while she bathed.

But this day was special, so he stopped outside the bathroom door and knocked.

No answer at first, and then Kagome's voice; "Who is it?"

"Inuyasha."

There was another pause. "What is it, Inuyasha?"

"Can I come in?"

He heard water splash and then Kagome sputtering. "No you can't! You know that's wrong! Inuyasha - !"

He'd already opened the door. Once inside, he shut it, but kept his eyes down so Kagome knew he wasn't looking.

"Inuyasha!" she snapped, her voice incredulous. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Getting you to talk," he replied quietly. He sat down on the floor, putting his back to the tub.

He could tell she was fuming. He could almost feel it on his back; her rage.

The water splashed again, which resulted in soaking his back with searing water. He flinched.

"Start talking or you get another one," she said, warningly.

He chuckled. "Your mother said you needed me."

"What for?"

"For everything, apparently. She talked in riddles; I'm no good at riddles."

"These days, no one is," Kagome replied with a sigh. "Like math."

He laughed. "Isn't it just like overkill to make math that no one can solve?"

"What?"

"Think about it," he said, leaning back. "If no one was good at math, then why would people still take the classes and finish the work?"

"Because some people are mathematical geniuses; I am not."

"So you were referring to yourself," he realized.

"I was _not!_ No normal kids these days are any good at math!"

"Better than the kids in my time are," he shot back.

She splashed him again, though this time it was aimed at his head. Getting heavily annoyed at his now dripping bangs, wet ears and soaking hair, he turned to see Kagome -

- and found himself staring straight at her chest.

Kagome squealed and then slapped him, which actually did wonders in clearing his mind. Not counting, of course, the moment of stun which left his mind blank and his body frozen.

He turned his back again and cleared his throat. "I think we lost the point."

Kagome started muttering.

He chuckled. "Yes, it was stupid of me to turn around," he agreed.

She humphed and the water sloshed with her movement; Inuyasha could guess that she just crossed her arms and sat back.

"You had a point?" she prompted.

"You need me."

A long, tense moment stretched out between them. And then she said, "Yes, but. . ."

"But what?"

She paused again before she spoke. "I don't need you in here while I bath."

He smirked and couldn't help but tease. "But you need me in here while you piss?"

He got splashed again, which he was expecting and did nothing to dodge the onslaught of water. In fact, he started laughing and found he couldn't stop.

So Kagome splashed him again. "Quit laughing and get out!" she snapped.

He had another idea in mind. He got up, but instead of leaving, he jumped into the tub at Kagome's feet and splashed her back.

Not a moment later and she thrust another wave at him, which he happily returned. Eventually the two of them were splashing each other furiously and sitting up, making large puddles on the floor and laughing.

It was great fun.

****

Detective Motsumoto

He had the tape in his hand. The tape that recorded what happened to Hisochane, from outside the cell. In his other hand, the blanked-out tape from inside, which recorded every sound - every scream.

He actually felt sorry for the murderer. Being slaughtered in his own cell like he was. Whoever or whatever killed him obviously wasn't finished yet, judging by the carving in the wall.

Hisochane's body was almost literally in pieces when they found him. The expert killer had left nerves connected, damaging only the muscles in Hisochane's body, so he could feel _everything_ the killer did to him, without being able to fight back. It was brutal and inhuman, but most of the media deemed it fitting of Hisochane's life.

They wouldn't think so if they saw this tape, if they played the two of them together so they could _hear_ what was happening to Hisochane as well. The tapes had already been duplicated, and the duplicates were being recorded in time together onto a fifth tape.

. . .But these would never hit the media. It was too horrible. Motsumoto himself had an iron-clad stomach and couldn't bear to watch the whole thing straight. He had to stop it a dozen times and calm himself the first time he played it. All that blood, the way Hisochane screamed, how the killer literally ripped pieces of his flesh off and tossed it elsewhere - it was just too disturbing.

Motsumoto was actually the only one in the precinct who didn't vomit when he saw it.

His hands were shaking again.

He set the tapes down on his desk and swept back his hair, kept slightly long because his fiance liked playing with it. It tied it at the base of his neck and sat in his chair, propped his feet up and placed his keyboard on his lap.

He wasn't done writing up his report yet.

The next few hours were thankfully numb, punctuated only by the tapping of his keyboard and the occasional sigh as he thought about what to write.

"Suspect knew what he was doing. Hisochane's body was mangled so he could not move or fight back, but could feel pain. Suspect wanted_ to cause him pain before death. Possibly suspect practiced or planned the attack for months. Suspect has not finished yet. Note 'He touched her first' found on the wall, carved in seemingly by sharpened tips on his gloves. _

"Too dark to get positive details. Suspect possibly has platinum blonde or white hair, possibly dyed. Eyes seemingly light in color. Possible suspect is Albino. Of average height, slim build.

"Questions: How did he enter the penitentiary? How did he know where the cameras were? Camera shows suspect 'appearing' on the railing. How did he get up there without taking the stairs? How did he leave nothing behind?

"CSI confirms: no threads, no hair, no blood, no skin remains that was not Hisochane's or a guard's. Until suspect strikes next, identity remains unknown.

"Strap up, boys. We're going to be taking lots of long nights to figure this one out."

wanted 

Finished, Motsumoto reread the entire report and printed it out. Copies of the report were given to each of his underlings and his superior, to be studied. He himself read the report a few more times, looking for anything he could have missed, any detail that should be standing out.

. . . Nothing.

It was times like this he cursed being a street detective, especially since he used to be a psychiatrist before he chose a faster-paced life.

This suspect was going to be **difficult.**

The Killer

A lot of people thought he wasn't done yet. They were right. A lot of people thought he was human. They were wrong. A lot of people thought he'd been overly brutal. That was up for debate. In his mind, Hisochane got what he deserved, not just for him - for what Hisochane did to his woman and unborn daughter - but for everyone Hisochane ever hurt.

He got _exactly_ what he deserved.

He was sitting in a widowsill, several stories high, overlooking a peaceful outstretch of plains. A few trees dotted along the view, and the length of land dropped into the Pacific Ocean by way of a stout cliff, perhaps a dozen feet above the tides. The sun was low, a few hours before dusk, and coupled with a light, cold breeze, it gave everything a dull feel of unreality.

He loved days like this. Everything about him seemed to calm. He could pretend at times like this, pretend that the cold breeze was no breeze, but the spirits of his wife and daughter come to see him.

He closed his eyes and savored the strong breeze which followed his thoughts, as though trying to prove that their spirits were present, were trying to sooth him and his rage. . . and his everlasting pain.

The door to his room opened and a tall figure stepped in. He didn't bother to turn around; he knew who was there.

"Welcome back, Sesshomaru," he said. "I hope you enjoyed your trip."

"I would have," the smooth voice of Sesshomaru returned, "if you hadn't caused such a stirring in my wake."

"Even in modern times you can't use modern words."

"My lawyers fought hard for her," Sesshomaru swept on, ignoring his statement. "For everyone Hisochane and his men hurt. He was given _five_ life sentences, yet still you couldn't let it go."

"Would you have? If it was your wife, your unborn daughter. . ." he paused, his voice cracked, and a tear slipped out of his eye. "If it was them Hisochane killed. . . if you had waited all this time to get your revenge. . . would you have let it go?"

Sesshomaru didn't reply to that, and He silently tallied it in his mind. A long stretch of silence spread out between the two of them, where neither moved. And then Sesshomaru broke the silence with more statements.

"You have a chair."

He chuckled. "I like squating; what's wrong with that?" he asked. True to his words, he was squating in the windowsill.

"Your room seems as bare as when I left. Will you ever fill it?"

"With what?"

Another pause. He tallied another point on his side.

"You did not have to steal those clothes," Sesshomaru continued.

"Yes I did."

"You did not. I told you -"

"That I could have anything as long as you owned it, in whole or in part," he finished. "Considering you owned that store, I technically _didn't_ steal it."

"But you made it seem as though you did."

"Had to pretend to be someone," he shrugged. "Someone poor. It makes the cops run around in circles."

"Chasing their tails," Sesshomaru finished for him. "But I had to fake an investigation because of it. If I had brushed it off and paid for the items -"

"They would have gotten suspicious. It really bites when I get you in a corner, doesn't it? Now you know how it feels."

Another pause. "I have given you shelter, food and clothing for centuries. What have you given me?"

He dropped his chin. "No complaints, no fights, no harsh words. . . ."

He felt Sesshomaru beside him suddenly, and a part of him wanted to lean into the strong aura, let it wash over him and believe, if only for a moment, that he would always protect him. He missed that feeling.

But he dropped his chin further. "And I helped you build this empire you own. . . without asking for any of it," he finished.

He felt, rather than saw, Sesshomaru lift his hand, and a moment later that hand was on his back. In a strange way, it was comforting.

"I remember," Sesshomaru said. And then he started towards the door again.

"I have a question," He said, lifting his chin again. He turned and dropped a foot off the sill to half-stand.

Sesshomaru turned back to him.

"How did you know I killed Hisochane?"

"Jaken told me," Sesshomaru replied.

He laughed. "I'm surprised you let that toad live all this time."

Glancing half towards the door, Sesshomaru added, "So am I."

He let Sesshomaru go then, without another word. As he turned back to his window, though, he saw his reflection in a mirror on the far wall. Such a sparse bedroom; hardly anything in it at all, not even a bed.

The man he saw in the mirror wasn't himself, and he knew it. Those short locks, empty golden eyes, a dried tear along his cheek. . . She would laugh at him.

She'd wipe the tear away and tease him about letting his emotions show in such a way. She'd flick his nose, tickle his ears, put a finger on his lips when he tried to kiss her until he was smiling and laughing again. Then she would take his hands and place them on her womb to feel their daughter move.

As always when he thought of this, he found himself smiling through the searing pain in his heart, unable to see from the blur of tears in his eyes. He gave a laugh at the irony and squatted in his window again. Thoughts of her were always so pleasant, but the pain tore at him like a thousand of Sesshomaru's poison claws. And the pain worsened as the memories faded. . .

Though he could still close his eyes, ignore the tears, and see her face before him, he was losing the sensations. The feel of her in his arms, the sound of her voice as she cooed at her womb, the taste of her lips when he kissed her. . . the sight of her sleeping next to him, soundly asleep, smiling faintly in pleasant dreams.

Her eyes were so beautifully brown and deep, her hair so like ebony silk, her skin rivaled rose petals in its softness. . .

But every time he thought of her, of her smile and her kisses and her laugh, it would always end. . . in pain.

He shuddered, trying to stave off the memory, _that_ memory, as new tears streaked their trails down his cheeks. _Don't remember, _he thought. _Don't don't don't. . . don't remember. . . don't think of . . . of it. . . No!_

He could see it again. Her body, covered in her own blood, her eyes dead but still wide with fear. . . And post-mortem, she had given birth to their daughter, but her body as well was dead. . . long dead. The both of them. And a note, laying atop her breasts, stating that _this_ would happen to anyone who dared to try and fight him. . . from Hisochane.

"**No! **Stop thinking!" he yelled. "Stop it!"

He fell back, clutching his head as though it could help. He couldn't feel the floor beneath him, couldn't feel the way he tore at his hair; there was too much real pain to notice. His eyes stung with the salt from his tears, and he gave a sob as he rolled onto his side and curled up. He screamed, but it was more of frustration than anything else. He couldn't forget, couldn't stop the memory, couldn't end his pain or halt the tears. He slammed his fist into the floor in anger it left a large dent.

Though his senses told him someone was there now, he couldn't ignore the pain long enough to find out who. He didn't care about the presence, anyway.

He killed Hisochane, made him suffer to his last breath, and yet, the memory hurt just as much as it always has. He felt his head snap to the side and knew someone slapped him, but he hadn't felt the hand. That presence was yelling at him, in more than one way, but in his mind he could still see the dead bodies of his wife and child, and could still hear his own screams of terror and injustice.

And then his eyes opened and he saw himself looking up at Sesshomaru.

The pain numbed, he felt himself begin to calm. He glanced around him as Sesshomaru stood, and saw a young demon holding his arm down. The woman next to the demon had a syringe in her hand, empty. Another shot.

These days, it was the only thing that could relax him, at times make him forget. He shuddered as the liquid melded with his blood and sat up. Sesshomaru dismissed the demon and the nurse, who left, but Sesshomaru stayed and leaned against the wall between two windows. He got up and sat in the window, facing Sesshomaru, and crossed his arms.

"Thanks," he said quietly.

Sesshomaru was staring at him again, that unwavering, I-know-all stare. "You must cease thinking of her."

"It's not that easy."

"I believe it is."

"Tell you what," he snapped, annoyed. "You fall in love with a woman who you could swear is perfect and get her pregnant. A month before she's due, let her be murdered. Just let it happen. Her and the baby. When you hear her scream and come running only to find and the baby already dead, you can tell me if it's easy to stop thinking about her!"

"Thoughts of her only make you snap!" Sesshomaru argued, raising his voice in a rare moment of rage. "We cannot continue to give you shots like we've been every day, at times more than once!"

"It's not that easy!"

"Then perhaps we must make you forget her entirely."

"**_NO!_**" he yelled, standing. "You will **never** do such a thing; you hear me! You can't threaten me like -"

"That was not a threat," Sesshomaru argued. "It was a suggestion. Perhaps if you forgot about her -"

"How dare you suggest that," he snarled. "I've already lost her; I'm not risking losing memories of her! They're already fading as it is; let me cling to them!"

Sesshomaru's stare became all-knowing again. An infinite amount of patience was intertwined with that gaze. He stood up fully and turned to Him. "Cling."

He looked away. It wasn't exactly the best thing to say, but it was true. He clung to those memories the same way he clung to the memories of his mother. Weighing one against the other, he found he spent more time with his mother than with his wife. . . and that knowledge burned him.

"It seems the only way for us to resolve this," Sesshomaru was saying, "is if you learn to block out their deaths. If you cannot. . ."

"Then I'll leave and you'll never have to worry about my breakdowns again."

Sesshomaru nodded and left him alone again.

Alone. . . .

He hated being alone.

He hopped up onto the windowsill again and stood there overlooking the view. From this view, he could see the ocean, and the way it sparkled reminded him of her eyes when she cried tears of joy. The sun was lower now, almost fallen into the ocean. His mind must have drifted longer than he thought. Wiping his cheeks, he steeled himself.

Day two: criminal two. He had work to do as soon as that sun set. Sesshomaru being here would make it more difficult, but not impossible.

As the sun finally fell the entire way, he turned from the window and went downstairs. He ate only because it gave him the energy he needed. And then he took a trip to the second floor: Sesshomaru's study. There was a computer in there which held everything of importance to Sesshomaru and/or his companies. He went inside and flicked it on.

Built with three times the memory capacity, it was a tome of knowledge - as long as you knew the passwords. He did.

He clicked, typed and scrolled, and found what he was looking for. The location of the second man on his list: Yashutino Kei.

Sticking his hand in his pocket, he pulled out a folded slip of paper and opened it. In a way, there was a list on it. The first statement on it, he'd already used. It read, "He touched her first." The second one. . . he was going to use tonight, when the timing was right.

A creak from upstairs startled him out of his thoughts. He stuffed the paper back into his pocket and closed all programs on the computer before turning it off. He left out the side window and climbed up the wall to his window and entered. There was just one more thing he had to get before he could go. . . He opened his wardrobe and pulled out a drawer, setting it on the floor. In the very back there was a loose pane of wood, which he pried out.

He pulled out what was hidden behind it: a soft pack, filled with sets of ofudas, kept from the time when ofudas could be used for everything. He took out a set and put it in his inner coat pocket. Having gotten what he needed, he put the rest back and returned the drawer to its place.

"Going out to kill another."

He wasn't surprised at hearing that familiar voice, in its usual tone. He stood up and faced Sesshomaru for the third time this day.

"I'm not finished yet."

They stared at one another for a long moment. And then Sesshomaru spoke again, "They will never leave their cells."

"No, they won't," he agreed.

Sesshomaru's chin lifted slightly. "They have been sentenced, labeled, and damned."

"Yes, they have."

"What do you intend to achieve, then?"

He glanced at his window. "To cause them the pain they caused countless others."

"And then to murder them."

"You can't murder a murderer," he argued quietly. "You execute murderers."

Another long moment passed in which both of them gathered their thoughts and stared the other down.

"Do not think I intend to stop you," Sesshomaru said at last.

"Then what are you here for?"

"To warn you. I have done my duty today by warning you, by being your good sense. The rest is to you."

He smirked. "By letting me go, you're almost condoning what I'm going to do. You sure you want that guilt?"

Sesshomaru turned away, but replied. "Perhaps I do not see it as 'guilt'."

"So what would you call it?"

Sesshomaru didn't answer that at first. He stepped outside the room and shut the door. But as He began to climb out the window, he heard Sesshomaru's voice say one word: _justice._

:End Chapter:

Oy. **_:Falls over:_** This one took a long time, didn't it? I bet all you have more guesses about who done it now, huh? Some of you may even be right.

Till next chapter, I have a gift for you all._**:Whips out a whip:**_ Always wanted to use one of these things. . . Mwa ha!

**_:Whips Naraku:_** This is what he gets for trying to turn the tables on me. Heh.

**Naraku:** YEOW! Someone. . . **_:Tears in eyes:_ **. . . .save. . . . **_:Starts crying:_ **MEEEEEEEEEEE!

_**:Whip whip, crack:**_ Oh yeah, one last thing. . . Review or you shall be like NARAKU! Chained and leashed, forced to feel my WRATH! MWA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!

See ya! **_:Blows a kiss, then snaps the whip:_**


	13. Getting Things Done

"Where are you going?" Mama asked him.

"Back home," he replied, but his voice was low and dull. . . almost dead.

And Kagome didn't say a word or make a move to stop him.

****

Inuyasha

Not a moment later and she thrust another wave at him, which he happily returned. Eventually the two of them were splashing each other furiously and sitting up, making large puddles on the floor and laughing.

It was great fun.

****

Detective Motsumoto

Finished, Motsumoto reread the entire report and printed it out. Copies of the report were given to each of his underlings and his superior, to be studied. He himself read the report a few more times, looking for anything he could have missed, any detail that should be standing out.

. . . Nothing.

It was times like this he cursed being a street detective, especially since he used to be a psychiatrist before he chose a faster-paced life.

This suspect was going to be **difficult. **

The Killer

Sesshomaru turned away, but replied. "Perhaps I do not see it as 'guilt'."

"So what would you call it?"

Sesshomaru didn't answer that at first. He stepped outside the room and shut the door. But as He began to climb out the window, he heard Sesshomaru's voice say one word: _justice._

AE Forty Five

All in all, Kagome wasn't too happy with Inuyasha's leaping into the tub and splashing her like he did, but she ended up having to forgive him, because they had to go back to his time again. He finally filled her in that Kikyo wanted to see her, and strangely, she didn't look too surprised. That brought up a conversation which ended in angry yells and a sitting.

Followed closely by dinner.

After dinner was when they left for Sengoku Jidai - finally. Kagome got many hugs from Shippo and cheers from the village. Everyone seemed happy that she was okay, at least outwardly. And this time around, Kagome didn't feel so frightened of being away from her time and home. She was still wary of movements in her peripheral vision, but other than that, she was sound as a pound.

Kikyo was waiting for her in Kaede's hut, talking with her sister, when Kagome entered. As always, Inuyasha didn't seem to know what to do now that his past and current love were in the same area together. He stood slightly away from Kagome and looked at the floor.

Though Kagome didn't know what it was Kikyo wanted to talk about, she was willing to give Kikyo time to talk.

But Kikyo was just staring up at Kagome, not speaking, as though she was hinting at something, trying to get Kagome to read her thoughts. It sounded easy enough, but when it came to hints and body language, the only person Kagome could read was Inuyasha. . . and that's when he _let_ her.

She was getting a weird feeling from that stare. Gesturing the door behind her, Kagome said, "Do you want to talk outside, Kikyo?"

Apparently, that was the right answer, because Kikyo nodded and got up. The right answer, of course, considering that there was a question somewhere in that look. They went outside together, leaving Inuyasha behind, who seemed to understand that he wasn't invited this time.

Kagome followed Kikyo's lead, wondering exactly where they were headed and what Kikyo was thinking. She was led all the way back to the God Tree before Kikyo stopped and turned to face her.

She didn't say anything at first. If Kagome didn't know better, she'd swear Kikyo was having trouble gathering her thoughts, or gathering the courage to say what she wanted to.

It took a long moment, but Kagome remained patient, though by the end of the pause it was entirely because of curiosity. And then Kikyo sighed.

"You love him, as I do," she said in that quiet voice.

It wasn't a question, but Kagome nodded. "You're not surprised, are you?"

"I had hoped you wouldn't fall for him as well," Kikyo replied, which didn't exactly answer Kagome's question.

"What's wrong with falling in love with Inuyasha? All around, he may be stubborn and egotistical, but he's still a great guy," Kagome told her.

"Yes, and I know that. But he is not human."

"What does that matter?" Kagome asked, feeling a protective surge begin in her stomach. "Half demon, human, demon; none of it matters. Inuyasha's parents proved that with their love, and Jinenji's parents, and Shiori's. . ."

"Who are these beings you speak of?"

"Jinenji and Shiori are half-demons, too," Kagome explained. "We met them on our journey."

"You met other half-demons?" Kikyo looked surprised at that.

"Well they're not _extinct_, Kikyo. Half-demons are more common than you think, they just know how to hide really well. We met another one, too, named Izumo. But he died. . ."

"How? Was he under Naraku's control?"

Kagome sighed. Izumo's was a sad type of story, but she remembered and liked the way he talked and how birds seemed drawn to him. "He was a bull by night, and human by day. He learned how to create false Shikon no Tamas, that were deadly for humans to use. . . He wanted to create a better false jewel, and use it to become human. He hated his bull form. . . In the end he swallowed all the false jewels he had access to, to try to get what he needed before sunrise. But he didn't make it that long. . . After the sun rose, the false jewels killed him."

"You cannot make Shikon no Tamas," Kikyo said.

"Actually, you can. You need both demon and humans souls to do it, though. He intended on using our souls to create the strong one he needed. Inuyasha for the soul of courage, Miroku for the soul of wisdom, Sango for the soul of love, and Shippo for the soul of friendship. Mine was going to be like Midoriko's, a strong pure energy."

"How many false jewels did he create?"

"A lot, but they shattered easy and we destroyed all the ones we could find," Kagome finished. "But I don't think you're here for a history lesson."

Kikyo looked surprised at Kagome's statement, and then smiled. "You are very unlike myself, Kagome. You have more courage and strength than many men I could name. Yet. . ."

"Yet what?"

"Yet you are undeniably feminine, and a pure-hearted priestess. I believe your origins will forever remain a mystery to me."

"I could tell you," Kagome offered.

Kikyo shook her head. "There are things better left unknown in this world."

Kagome shrugged and glanced away. Certainly all of that wasn't what Kikyo intended to say, or all of what she meant to.

"One would think that a strong woman such as you would see Inuyasha as less than what the rest of us see him as. . . Tell me, what _do_ you see in Inuyasha?"

Kagome couldn't help but smile and glance down at her feet. In her mind, she could see Inuyasha, smiling like he'd just laughed at something, eyes narrowed in challenge as always. "I see the man I love, and that's all I need to see."

"But what do you see in him?" Kikyo prompted.

"I see strength above all else. Courage and righteousness, cleverness and caring. . . What I see in Inuyasha is everything good in the world, all put to use in one man. And somehow, I doubt any other being could ever be half as good."

"When you watch him fight, what do you see?"

"Determination. He's never truly lost a fight in all the time I've known him. His reflexes are very fast, he has an incredible amount of agility, so much strength and more than intelligence to use everything to his advantage."

"When he sits with you on a quiet day, what do you see?"

Kagome smiled. "An adorable kid who hasn't quite grown up. He can be really cute when he's not arguing, and he plays with Shippo a lot. And when he just relaxes on the grass, he. . ." She broke off there and blushed.

It got Kikyo's attention. "He what, Kagome?"

"He's. . . Oh, don't make me say it," she half-begged.

For the first time, Kikyo seemed genuinely curious. "Please, finish what you were saying. If it bothers you, I won't repeat it."

Kagome's blush worsened, but she figured she'd have to say it sometime. . . "He's. . . he's just. . . sexy."

What happened next was completely unexpected. Kikyo arched a brow like she'd never heard that word before, at least not in association with Inuyasha.

Kagome turned her back to Kikyo, shocked that she'd actually said that. She could hear nothing for a moment, and then she heard Kikyo laugh. It was such a shock that she turned back around and saw that Kikyo had sat down on a big root of the tree.

And then Kikyo looked up at Kagome and gestured the root beside her. Kagome sat down, facing Kikyo and wanting to know what was so funny.

"It is hard to believe," Kikyo began, "that you noticed it as well."

"That I noticed what?"

"The way he looks in the sunlight, relaxed," Kikyo went on. "I believe this word 'sexy' implies that you. . . wish to be close to him, because of the way he looks? Attractive?"

Kagome nodded, developing a picture in her mind of where Kikyo was going with this.

"When he lies on the grass, you wish to lay beside him? When he smiles, you smile back? When he shakes water out of his hair, you find it. . . arousing?"

Kagome's blush returned full force. "You went through it, too," she realized. "You always thought he was sexy."

"I desired him, as you do; yes." Kikyo smiled down at her knees. "It was hard to resist him at times. . . And I do not believe I have fully gotten over it."

"So you still desire him?"

"Every day and night. Much like obsession."

That couldn't have been easy for Kikyo to admit. Kagome knew it, because she herself couldn't admit it out loud. At least. . . not before today. She smiled down at her knees, too. "Yeah, it's hard to stop thinking about him, isn't it?"

"I am jealous of you, Kagome. I have never felt jealousy before, but I feel it towards you."

Kagome stuttered. "Well. . . you know, Kikyo. . . It's sad that you died, and worse that you were resurrected like you are, but. . ."

"That is not what I am jealous of. I know you spoke to another of Urasue's resurrected beings, a woman. . . and you told her to give life a chance. I have done this without regret. . . But it is not what I am jealous of."

Kagome shut her mouth. If Kikyo wasn't jealous that Kagome was alive, then. . . "All you have to do is ask and Inuyasha would -"

"I am not jealous of your relationship with Inuyasha, either."

. . .And those were the only two guesses Kagome had. "Then what could you see in me to be jealous of?"

Kikyo sighed again and sat up straight. "You are strong, without training. You are just, without temptation. You follow your instincts, without betrayal. You are everything I am not, and wish to be."

"But, I'm you, reincarnated. . ."

"You are Kagome, and you are nothing like me, if not for our soul."

"That doesn't make sense."

Kikyo looked at her then, and Kagome saw a deep, resonating sadness in those eyes. It made her heart ache, that Kikyo suffers so much.

"Though it came as second nature, I have trained all my life to be a priestess, to have this strength you possess without training. Being a priestess is not your second nature, but your core nature. I have been tempted to forego my life as a priestess, as I have believed that demons could never be pure, whereas you have never been tempted, nor do you believe that anything is solely just or solely wrong. My instincts have led me to doing things I wish I had not, but yours give you friends, give you trust; your instincts keep you from feeling the shame I feel."

"What shame?" Kagome asked, dumbfounded. "What do you have to be ashamed about?"

"I am afraid that is a story for another day, Kagome." Kikyo was quiet for another few moments, and then she nodded, like she had made some decision.

"What is it?" Kagome asked.

"We died half a century ago," Kikyo began. "It has taken time and thought, but I have let go of the hatred I once felt for him. As I have let go of him altogether."

Kagome didn't have to ask who Kikyo was talking about, but _what_ she was talking about nagged at her. "What do you mean, you let go of him?"

"I have accepted that the time Inuyasha and I spent together has ended, and now we are ended as well. Now it is your moment with him, your time to spend with him. I am certain I will die again soon, and when I do, you will know, for I will have told you everything I need to. And then your life with Inuyasha can truly begin."

It was hard to stay quiet during that speech, but at the same time, Kagome couldn't muster up the will, control or breath to interrupt. And now that it was over, Kagome couldn't find the words to reply. What was there to say, really?

"I can't believe you found Inuyasha sexy," she blurted out.

Kikyo chuckled. "Out of everything I've said, that is the only thing you cannot believe?"

"Everything else is believable," Kagome replied. "How old are you, Kikyo?"

"I was seventeen when I died."

Kagome shook her head in disbelief. "You were seventeen? But. . . you look older!"

"Priestesses are much more mature than the average person. Surely you have noticed this."

"Well, just ask Inuyasha," Kagome laughed. "I'm hardly mature."

Kikyo smiled. "Perhaps that is why you are so pure."

She blushed. "I'm not that amazing."

"You are much more than amazing, Kagome," Kikyo said, standing. Turning her back, she added, "You seem to have the purity of Midoriko herself."

Kagome waited a few moments, then got up and followed Kikyo back to the village. Something told her that she should keep her and Kikyo's conversation to herself, so she didn't give any details to anyone. Sango and Shippo asked a lot, though, so Kagome tried to give general answers without betraying Kikyo's trust and keeping her words away from becoming rumors or gossip.

The entire time Kagome was talking, she was leaning back against Inuyasha. Every time she looked up at time, he gave her a smile, but it was forcefully done. She snuck a few glances at him when they were settling in for the night, and couldn't help but notice how intensely focused he was. It was obvious to her then that Inuyasha wasn't happy that she and Kikyo had left together, and left him behind.

But she didn't want to ask why.

The problem was, the way he was sitting in the far corner of the hut. . . It reminded her of what she'd said earlier, about Inuyasha being sexy. In many ways he was, especially now, with that slight pout and intense look. . . She could have drooled.

Instead, she looked away with a blush and an embarrassed smile. When she laid down for the night, she got a nervous yet familiar feeling as she thought about all the nights prior, when she slept cuddled in his arms. And the more she thought about it, the more she felt herself swooning for him, loving him more for how selfless he was. And the way his arms felt around her, holding her so securely. . .

She felt herself blush and giggled. This was ridiculous! But still, she found she couldn't get him out of her mind. Sometime later, she also realized that she kept glancing at him, sitting up near her feet beside Miroku. It was so cute, the way he was acting now, not trying to make it obvious how easygoing their relationship had become. There was hardly any modesty left between them, few arguments that didn't end in laughter, few days that didn't end with a kiss goodnight.

Kami, I'm so in love. . . she thought. _You hear me, Inuyasha? I love you more than I could put into words._

she thought. 

"Sweet dreams, Kagome."

She glanced up in surprise, but Inuyasha looked asleep. As she lay back down, she couldn't help but wonder if that voice had been in her head.

****

Yashutino Kei

There he was, Kei, sitting in his cell nervously. Though it was past 'light's out', he was still up, fidgeting. Every now and again, he glanced through his cell doors and swore he saw a shadow move.

Hisochane's death reached everywhere, including Kei. Knowing that his 'leader' had died would have been a relief; that fool wouldn't know how to trick the police if there was a book on it. No, he wouldn't, but Kei knew a lot more. The only reason why Hisochane remained the 'leader' for so long was because he never felt pain or fear, and that made him fearsome.

The police went all-out for the rest of their band, though. Kei and the others were given 'special' tapes, that were recorded so that they could both hear and see what was going on. And what Kei saw wasn't a slaughter, it was fear.

Hisochane, who feared nothing, had been terrified in that video. He screamed and begged, in the end almost being scared to death. And that's what scared Kei.

The others saw the slaughter, and only the slaughter. They didn't see the way Hisochane's eyes went white in his fear. Kei's stomach fell and his heart stopped after seeing that video, as he was sure the others' did. Hisochane had never before been frightened, let alone scared shitless, fearing for his life. The fact that something could shake him so completely proved that Hisochane wasn't the last on the list.

That message in the wall, it was proof to everyone else that this wasn't over yet. Someone wanted vengeance and wasn't going to be stopped on his way to getting it. Although Kei didn't know who was next on the list.

Sweeping his hair back from his shoulders, he glanced across the way to the mirror -

And froze.

There was something in that reflection, a moving shadow. . . But that was impossible; there was no light, and the mirror was across from the bed! The cell entrance was to his right. . . Still, logic didn't stop him from looking over his shoulder.

There was a length of wall behind him, nothing more. Not even a shadow.

He exhaled a breath. He could see his death in his future, but scaring himself to death in the meantime? That was just stupid.

Even if he were next on the list, there was no point in jumping at each shadow. Kei always knew his way of life was going to get him killed, and perhaps this was his fate, to die scared and in pain. But then, he was too stubborn for that.

They only showed the tape once, but Kei remembered everything he had to. He wasn't going to die without a fight. The blackened figure in the video walked straight through the bars, which was difficult to do. So the police worked on making the bars an inch closer together, but they wouldn't be finished and installed on each cell for another week. By then, they'd all be dead.

Ryoki, Kei's younger brother, had utterly panicked and as such, was sent to solitary for the night. As for this penitentiary, only Kei and Ryoki remained. The other three of their band was located elsewhere - Serio was sent to a mental instatution-type prison in account of his mental instability, but as for the other two. . . Kei didn't know where they were located.

Something clanked and its echo streaked right through Kei. He jumped, his heart skipped a beat, and he found himself staring in the distance. He could see nothing beyond his nose, and that noise frightened him. He knew, he _knew_, that the figure wouldn't make a sound if it showed up, but that didn't stop Kei from fearing that the clank was the silent killer.

He stared down at his hands sightlessly, trying to keep himself controlled. This was just ridiculous. He was anxious, wondering if tonight was the night he was going to die. Everyone else was probably thinking the same thing; he could hear movements in nearby cells. Usually the prison was dead silent by now; it had to be past one. . .

Down the corridor, someone yelled.

Kei jumped and without thinking, backed up into the wall facing the bars. His heart rate had gone way up, he could hear his wild pulse thudding dully in his ears, his hands were shaking again. . .

He held his breath and tried to count, tried to calm himself. _It won't happen again,_ he said to himself. _It was just Hisochane the killer was after. And even if he wasn't, he won't go after me next. I'm not the worst of us; he'd go after Akira next. Right?_

Logic wasn't helping his situation any. Which really _sucked_ because logic was his main talent. He did probabilities, equations, gave answers and percentages. And the percentage of him making it through tonight without a nervous breakdown was quickly decreasing. . .

If he made it through tonight at all.

****

Morning, Detective Motsumoto

A second death. Same killer, same signature, same feel, even. . . But this time, the message on the wall read, 'He hurt her second.'

Second, not _last_. The killer was after the entire group, then. A serial killer killing killers. On the plus side, no one was crying over the deaths. This morning there was even a column in the papers about people who were praising the killer, or The Phantom, as they nicknamed him.

not . The killer was after the entire group, then. A serial killer killing killers. On the plus side, no one was crying over the deaths. This morning there was even a column in the papers about people who were praising the killer, or The Phantom, as they nicknamed him. 

At least the nickname fit. No sounds, no clear visual, he always seems to appear on the scene and leaves just as quietly, leaving no proof that he was there besides the body and the message. Never says a word, never faces a camera, never steps in the light. Never gets hurt, never gets splattered, never leaves anything behind. A Phantom.

Although hearing the name would make one think of _The Phantom of the Opera_, the storyline was so different that he was almost an urban legend. A lot of people were writing him off as a hoax, even though the facts remained. Wishful thinking, they called it. Most of them just couldn't believe that justice could be served to people so unjust.

While he could believe and understand that, he didn't see why _they_ couldn't believe in a Phantom killing the murderers. But then again, the way that sounded in his head was reason enough. . . It was farfetched, mainly because the police wouldn't let the media have the tapes; visual, audio or otherwise. The public had no other proof than the word of the press, which has been known to both exaggerate and lie altogether.

But the price of letting the public see the tapes would be too great. Which is why they couldn't let it out.

It was frustrating, too, that they couldn't find a single new detail yet. They learned nothing they didn't know before, expect for one thing. . . This time they brought in a psychologist to give a diagnosis of the Phantom, to study and explain his reasons. Most of it was obvious; he had a vendetta for some - likely dead - woman, or he was employed by someone who did.

The fact that he caused the killers such pain suggested that he had a lot of hatred for them, and that the unknown woman was probably hurt terribly. If she wasn't, then the man was also incredibly protective and vengeful of her, suggesting that the woman was also unbelievably important to him. It's possible that the woman was the only person in his life beforehand, a mother or a sister or a spouse.

The interesting thing was, given the lack of sufficient light, they really couldn't tell if the Phantom was a man at all. It was just as possible that he was a she, though it was far less unlikely, given the brutal nature of the crimes.

The _crimes_. Another funny point.

The families of the victims of the killers were praising the Phantom, calling him a Saint doing God's work. A few families have actually erected shrines to the Phantom, calling him simply 'Seraph'. At the same time, many people who condemned death of all kinds protested those same shrines, saying that killing murderers does not justify killing. These same people voted against the death sentence, which is why all six men - now four - were serving life sentences without the possibility of parole.

"Yo, Motsumoto! Get out here!"

Well, that was odd. He wasn't called out of his office very often. He closed the open folders on his desk and got up. In the main room, they had a TV on. The news. An officer leaned close and turned up the volume, and for a moment, everyone was riveted to the screen.

"- Just received word that the Phantom, who has been killing the recently captured murderous band of six men, is in fact killing them for his dead wife. We received word from a letter left on my desk, not an hour ago. It reads,

" 'You have all branded me The Phantom. I have so far killed two men, but not to worry, when I am finished, I will not kill again. The reason behind their deaths, which I'm sure you all have an opinion about, is for my wife. Long ago, she was raped by them, but not killed. Years later, she became pregnant with my child, but never had the chance to give birth. They found her again, and this time, murdered her and my daughter. I've waited longer than you could imagine for the opportunity to kill them, and be assured, nothing will stop me. I apologize to everyone who I've offended by killing them, and ask not to be praised. I'm not proud of what I'm doing, and neither do I encourage anyone to do it as well. My wife was my only family since the day I met her, and the loss of her causes me pain every second. You will know when I have finished my revenge, and afterwards, I can promise that the world will never hear of me again.'

"While we have no way to verify that this was sent by the Phantom himself -"

"That's enough," Motsumoto said. "I want a copy of that letter and I want the original examined - yesterday. Move it!"

Immediately the TV was turned off the room was in anarchy as officers and detectives scrambled to get their things and get moving. Motsumoto went back into his office and turned on his computer, and began typing the newest update. The letter itself could be the clincher, what leads them to the Phantom and captures him. At the moment, Motsumoto couldn't care less about why the Phantom had been killing, but the _how_ itched at him.

One way or another, he was going to find out.

****

The Killer

It was stupid of him to leave that letter. He knew that, but still, the public was going nuts with questions and he had to find some way to reassure them of his motives. Which, of course, he didn't spell out.

Neither did he physically write the letter or deliver it. He typed it up, printed it out, and gave it to one of the demons under Sesshomaru's orders to place it on the desk of that woman newscaster. Which was clever because that particular news station was part of Sesshomaru's empire anyhow.

In all truth, it was extremely difficult to write that letter. That one, long paragraph took him several hours, for two reasons. . . One, because it kept bringing up bad memories and making him pause, and two because his claws kept hitting the wrong keys on the keyboard. His letter would be three times the length it was and impossible to read without that backspace key.

Stupid claws. At least they had their uses. Like cutting open Kei's eyes after peeling off his eyelids so he couldn't blink away the blood. Or shredding Ishi's tongue into several ribbons and ripping them off one by one.

Plus other, more brutal things that made him smile and think, _They got their dues. _After all, his wife wasn't the only one they'd hurt, or raped, or killed. His wasn't the only family they took away.

It was the middle of the day now, and he was crouched in his window again. He actually missed his hair, regretted that he had to cut it. Though Sesshomaru didn't seem to have any problems leaving it as long as it always was. His hair was never even half that length, thank Kami. He still had his questions about how in hell Sesshomaru's hair never tangled, or when it did, how he got them out again.

It really was an enigma. He had to have gotten it from his mother. No man, dead or alive, had hair that stayed fine all night and day. Lucky bastard.

Although short hair had the advantage of not being long enough to get tangled, at least not too badly. He glanced in the mirror and smiled wryly at his reflection; cutting his hair had only made it harder for him to recognize himself in the mirror. He was glad he wasn't as vain as Sesshomaru, or he'd be freaking out every time he caught a glimpse of himself.

Sometimes He thought about cutting Sesshomaru's hair. It was a tempting thought, for two reasons: the first, to see how Sesshomaru would react to such a thing. Certainly even someone as calm and controlled as Sesshomaru would still flip at such a startling, overnight change. The second was to see how fast Sesshomaru's hair could regrow.

And of course, a bonus effect: seeing just how far He could push Sesshomaru before getting booted. Hopefully Sesshomaru had gotten more patient and lenient over the years, both from age and having pups of his own. Or, as He called them, the Brood. Though Sesshomaru himself had two daughters and a son, the three of them gave way to dozens of descendants. Each of them was now a part of Sesshomaru's empire, controlling this or that, but ultimately they all looked up to Sesshomaru as one would look up to Kami, never doing anything without his authorization.

His trip last week had been to see his daughter, a CEO, her two children and two of her grandchildren. It was rare when five of them were in the same area together, and Sesshomaru never once missed that opportunity to catch up with them.

It was funny how often Sesshomaru - calm, cold, controlled, I-don't-need-anyone Sesshomaru - put everything aside to meet with his family. It made Him believe that Sesshomaru missed his children and grandchildren often, and valued family as much as his father had.

What was funnier is that prejudiced Sesshomaru had a human mate for a time, and his only son was her child. Ironic, isn't it?

****

:End Chapter:

TA-DA! **_:Wipes forehead:_** One thing I have to address here. . .**_:Points to Naraku, running freely:_** It seems that ff-anime-AM-sp0rks freed him not too long ago. He's been wreaking havoc on everything. . . But while I struggle to lure him into a trap again, I want you all to forget about that and review for me - about the chapter - kay? Kay.

NOW GET BACK HERE! **_:Chases him with a whip, snapping it:_**

**Naraku:** NEVA! **_:Runs faster and climbs a tree, sticks his tongue out:_**

Jerk. **_:Kicks the tree: _**

Also I have some terrible news. . . seems yet another wannabe free-thinker stole Trans. I'm sorry that I can't add in the link, neither in the chapter nor a review, but if you review asking for the link (keeping in mind that I need your e-mail, too) or send me an e-mail for it, I can send it out. I'll wait a day and send a mass e-mail first.

See ya!


	14. Thoughts, Rules, Wishes

_Kami, I'm so in love. . ._ she thought. _You hear me, Inuyasha? I love you more than I could put into words._

"Sweet dreams, Kagome."

She glanced up in surprise, but Inuyasha looked asleep. As she lay back down, she couldn't help but wonder if that voice had been in her head.

**_ Yashutino Kei _**

Logic wasn't helping his situation any. Which really _sucked_ because logic was his main talent. He did probabilities, equations, gave answers and percentages. And the percentage of him making it through tonight without a nervous breakdown was quickly decreasing. . .

If he made it through tonight at all.

_** Detective Motsumoto **_

Immediately the TV was turned off and the room was in anarchy as officers and detectives scrambled to get their things and get moving. Motsumoto went back into his office and turned on his computer, and began typing the newest update. The letter itself could be a clincher, which leads them to the Phantom and captures him. At the moment, Motsumoto couldn't care less about why the Phantom had been killing, but the _how_ itched at him.

One way or another, he was going to find out.

_** The Killer **_

It was funny how Sesshomaru - calm, cold, controlled, I-don't-need-anyone Sesshomaru - put everything aside to meet with his family. It made Him believe that Sesshomaru missed his children and grandchildren, and valued family as much as his father had.

What was funnier is that prejudiced Sesshomaru had a human mate for a time, and his only son was her child. Ironic, isn't it?

**_AE Forty Six_ You may not realize this, but most mangas have about this many chapters, if not more.**

Kikyo was gone the next morning, as she had the tendency of doing. No one knew where she went, which was probably for the better. Kagome tried not to mull over it, but Inuyasha looked so confused. . . She had to wonder if there was something he'd wanted to do or say to Kikyo while she was here, and now he didn't have the chance. Maybe some insight into the future or something.

"You've been staring at me all morning."

She blushed. "Sorry, Inuyasha. I'm just thinking. . ." She glanced away.

". . .About what?" he replied after a moment.

She shook her head. "Nothing to worry about," she said with a bright - albeit false - smile.

Inuyash gave her a questioning gaze, but didn't press the issue. After a few more moments, he stood up and left the hut. Kagome was left with a feeling that he really, really had something on his mind that he really, really didn't want anyone to read. She was also left with a feeling of coldness, like the room were suddenly out to get her. She wrapped her arms around herself and shivered, trying not to show how much she truly depended on Inuyasha.

That would only pin him down more, when she knew that he was born with, and always needed, a great sense of freedom. She wanted him to be free, not held down -- by her, or anyone else. It's why it troubled her so greatly that he ignored all of his needs when he deemed her needs greater.

Smiling faintly, she was determined not to let her darker thoughts get the better of her, and wanting to prove -- if only to herself -- that she could still live without Inuyasha by her side each moment. She clasped her hands over her heart and shut her eyes, thinking how great it would be for Inuyasha to return to find that she was capable of being alone again, that her fears had faded. . . and as she did so, she saw one image of Inuyasha after another flash through her mind, in all of his many emotions and situations. Each one seemed more enticing than the last. . .

Inuyasha, angry, snarling at a demon. Inuyasha, jealous, fighting with Kouga over a bag of chips. Inuyasha, scared, hugging her and telling her how he feared for her. Inuyasha, content, lying in the grass beside her. Inyasha, curious, asking why she was avoiding him. Inuyasha, Inuyasha, Inuyasha. . .

As these thoughts and images continued, she felt her fear gradually declining, as water would pour over a waterfall into the greater stream. She became content, forgetting all of her troubles with little effort, imagining a completely free and happy Inuyasha chatting with her, watching over her, protecting her as he always has. And later at night. . .

She blushed, but it didn't stop the images from presenting themselves. In retrospect, she could likely have associated these images with the story she'd written, and her rape, yet it felt nothing alike either of those memories. Even thinking about making love to Inuyasha was a thrill, but to see the images before her very eyes. . .

She was certain that if anyone else were here, they would know instantly where her mind was by her face alone. She was also particularly certain that if Inuyasha were still here, she would not waste a second in pouncing on him and begging him to go through with her visions.

She always knew he was sexy, and drop-dead gorgeous, but. . . she had never before felt this need to be with him, for him to be. . . within her. Even when she wrote that highly-detailed. . . _scene_. . . between them in her story, she had been blushing, not aroused. Though by the end of it, she had become aroused. (DL: But don't expect her to admit it.)

She found herself giggling at the absurdity of it. Inuyasha knew her ways; he'd never touch her like that, not before she turned eightteen. Knowing this made her heart swell as she thought about it. He had such pride, yes, but he also had such honor, never breaking a promise, always keeping his word, standing up for the little person, crushing those who deserved it. Righteous. He was righteous.

Her passion faded as she found herself comparing him to the old English Knights of legend. People like King Arthur, dragonslayers, men who lived and died by their Code of Honor, upholding it to the utmost extent. Inuyasha did all of that. Sure, he was testy, and he had a temper, and rarely showed his true feelings, but he would still blow away all those old legends.

King Arthur and Excalibur. A boy who found his strength when he pulled an immovable sword from the stone that held it. His father being the one who placed it there. From then, he fought many great evils, assembled a brotherhood of fellow Knights of Honor, and married. Though eventually his story came to a saddening ending, his legend remained a truly great masterpiece, and an inspiration for the forces of good.

Wasn't Inuyasha the same way?

Inuyasha found his greatest strengths not just from the sword his father left behind, but from battle after battle, from learning and protecting. He fought demons and humans, witches and dark priests, and Naraku. It was through him that they gained so many allies, created so many tight bonds, became such close friends. The only truly big difference, was that Inuyasha's legend was far from over. If anything, it only just began.

Kagome opened her eyes at last and found that everything seemed quieter than it should be, and darker than it was earlier. It must be dusk. As she looked up, she found that Inuyasha had come back already, and she blushed. How long had he been here!

_Don't ask,_ she told herself. _He might have just come back. He might not have been here long enough to notice your. . . early thoughts. Just don't ask. _

"How long have you been sitting there?" she asked. And then she mentally kicked herself.

"Not long," he replied. He was sitting across from the room, looking at her. This time, she couldn't read his expression. She didn't know why he was looking at her like that. After a few moments, though, he spoke up again. "Kagome. . . In the story you wrote. . ."

She swallowed. "Yes?"

"Why did you make Naraku still alive?"

She looked away. "I started it a long time ago. . . That's also why I had it written than I had half the jewel, and he the other half."

"Kagome. . ."

She looked up.

"How long have you wanted to please me?"

She blushed. Her first reaction was to tell him, but instead she asked, "What makes you think I changed myself to please you?"

He smirked, and the sight made her heart flutter. "Because you could've chosen to be anything. That, and you told me so."

She laughed. "Well. . . to answer your question. . . Think back a bit. _Way_ back. Do you remember the first time I offered you some food, the day after I came here?"

He nodded. "And you sat me."

"On accident," she clarified. "That was the first time I tried to make you happy."

"By sitting me?"

"No, by -" She broke off at his amused look. "See, now you're just teasing me."

He laughed and got up to sit next to her. "It's fun to tease you. . . besides, you're cute when you blush."

She blushed. "Cut it out."

He chuckled and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "You seem to have held up really well while I was gone."

She shrugged. "I was thinking about you the whole time."

"Were you?"

She nodded and glanced up at him, wondering why she didn't feel embarrassed to tell him that.

"What kinds of things?"

_Now_ she was blushing. "At first it was just some random memories. . ."

"And then?"

She paused. "And then it was comparing you to a legend I know," she half-lied.

"What legend?"

"King Arthur."

"Who?"

"Now surprised you don't know," she told him, straightening as her pride rose. "I don't think the story reaches Japan until around my time."

"So how does the story go?"

She wet her lips and began with the tale, remembering it in detail because she always liked it. Inuyasha listened to her attentively, occasionally flicking an ear or nodding. His eyes bore into hers the entire time, and as it continued, she found herself leaning in closer to him, enjoying his closeness as well as finding comfort in it. She told him all the details she could remember, how in one version Arthur received the Excalibur from the Lady of the Lake, Vivian. His search for the Holy Grail. Why they all wore green girdles. Anything she could remember pertaining to King Arthur.

And how his legend affected England, and Europe itself.

Inuyasha didn't say a word until she finished, commenting with a simple, "He was a really great man. . . for a human."

Kagome shrugged. "For a human, yeah."

"And you compared us?"

"I found you in favor," she replied carefully.

He laughed. "Yeah, I can see some similarities. . . Mostly with that whole sword thing."

"Yeah, but there's a difference between them, too."

"Course there is. Mine's better," he said, sitting up straighter.

Kagome laughed. "That's not what I meant, but it works."

"What did you mean?"

She opened her mouth to reply, but then closed it. She raised her brows at him.

"So, you're not gonna tell me?" he asked.

She shook her head.

He kept staring at her for another few moments before he leaned up close and tilted up her chin with one hand.

She shut her eyes and waited for the kiss. . . but found that none was forthcoming. She opend her eyes again in question, and found him smirking.

"It's not nice to tease," she told him, getting frustrated.

"That works both ways," he returned smoothly. "You tell me and I'll kiss you."

"Why would I trade a kiss for information, when I could just _take_ my kiss?"

"Because I didn't say, 'I'll let you kiss me'," he said somewhat darkly.

She went still as she thought about this. "I could just tease you into wanting to kiss me."

"You could try," he warned.

"And I could do it, too," she snapped.

"So you think."

"Inuyasha. . ."

"Hmm?"

"Inuyasha. . ."

"Kagome. . ."

She smirked at him. "Do you really purr?"

"Dunno." He tilted his head. "Do you?"

"I might," she said as she leaned away from him. "But you'll never find out."

"Is that a threat?" he asked in surprise. "Kagome, the 'good' one, threatening _me_?"

"I'm not very good right now, am I?" she returned.

He laughed. "Maybe you should be. It wrecks the whole 'bad boyfriend, good girlfriend' thing we have."

"You wrecked that when you started being good," she countered. "I've got no place left but to be the bad one."

He laughed again, seeming to delight in her phrases. "You can't take my place, though."

"Why not? You took mine."

"I did no such thing."

"Yes, you did."

"When? Tell me _that._"

"When you started talking to me in my sleep."

"See, you're still delusional. I should take you back home to get treated for these delusions."

"Happy delusions are called 'dreams', though. You can't treat dreams."

"But dreams treat you," he shot back, smiling at her.

She couldn't help but tilt her head at him. "Have you been dreaming about me, Inuyasha?"

He grinned. "Maybe."

"That's a yes," she pointed out.

He just smiled at her then. It seemed so out of character for Inuyasha, but then, Inuyasha was in love. Men in love tended to act out of character, didn't they?

They must, if it's the only way to change Inuyasha's behavior. That, and maybe fatherhood.

"Whatcha thinking about?" he asked, interrupting her thoughts.

She shrugged. "This and that. . ."

"About me?"

She smiled. "As always."

To her surprise, he blushed a little. "You always think about me?"

_** Same Day, Higurashi Shrine **_

"Mama!" Souta yelled, running into the house. "Hey, Mama!"

Mama was on her way downstairs. "Yes, Souta?"

"This guy's here."

"Who?" She looked in each direction as Souta went on.

"I dunno, but he's -- he's outside, Mama, not in the house. I just passed him on the way in."

"Where is he?"

"He was sitting by the God Tree. He looked kinda lost."

Mama nodded and stepped outside, looking over at the God Tree. Her instincts has risen up, warning her that while this was a mostly public Shrine, loiterors weren't welcome. No one was by the God Tree that she could see, so she stepped out further and went full circle around the base. He must've left when Souta came in.

After another moment, just checking to make sure there really was no one there, Mama went back inside. Souta was already upstairs in his room, and she couldn't help but check to make sure he was there and okay.

It had to be the stress of what had happened to Kagome getting to her. Mama sat at the table for a few, long moments, thinking it over. That guy was probably lost like Souta said, taking a moment to backtrack in his head, before leaving again. Or somebody who wanted to visit the shrine and paused by the tree. These were rational explanations, but somehow, they didn't calm her at all.

What the hell was a grown man doing sitting by the God Tree on a work day!

Mama took a deep breath to calm herself. She'd just go ask Souta what else he noticed, like a description. With any luck, Inuyasha would be here if and when the loiteror returned. She was sure that if she told Inuyasha, he'd stick around a few days to make sure.

But that didn't explain why she was so shaken. Maybe the recent events had reminded her how dangerous outside was, how deceiving appearances could be. Maybe she had become paranoid, worrying over every little thing.

But then there's the chance that it wasn't a little thing at all.

She went back upstairs and sat on Souta's bed, while he was fascinated with a video game. "Can you pause?" she asked.

Souta pressed the button and turned halfway to her. "Yeah, Mama?"

"That man you saw. . ."

"What about him?"

"Can you tell me anything about him?"

He shrugged. "He was a guy. I only looked at him once."

"Please, Souta, try for me."

He paused and glanced away. A few seconds passed, and then he looked back at her. "He was wearing all black, with dark sunglasses. And he had a hat on, like those old spy movies from America."

"And he looked lost?" Mama pressed, trying not to let her sudden fear show.

"Yeah, sitting on the ground, against the fence. He also looked kinda sad, and kinda hurt. Why are you asking?"

She smiled and kneeled on the floor, hugging Souta. "Because mothers like to know."

Souta hugged her back, and it warmed her heart. Several content moments went by, and then. . .

"Uh. . . Mama? . . . Can I play my game now?"

She gave a laugh and let go. "Sure, Souta. Thank you for telling me."

He shrugged and turned away. "I didn't think it was anything big."

She had to admire him, his trusting ways. He wouldn't grow up paranoid, and that was good. He would grow up reaching out on that extra limb to talk to people and make friends, which he was already fairly good at. Although she couldn't see him making many friends sitting in front of that TV and playstation all day long. (DL: Yes, it's a playstation. Any gamer instantly would've recognized that controller.) Still, she got up and went back to finish up on her chores, which tended to never really end.

And when Grandpa caught her alone in the kitchen, staring at the table, and inquired at her odd behavior, she told him about the spy man Souta had noticed. Grandpa, too, shrugged it off.

"People of all sorts come to see the tree and the shrine," he said. "And if he was not here for the tree, there are a million other reasons, all non-harmful, I'm sure."

"You can't be totally sure," Mama countered. "You don't know what's in his head."

"No, but what I do know is that bad luck does not strike this shrine twice in such close time frames. We will get nothing but good luck for quite a while longer, I am certain of it."

"Not to argue this point, but your predictions are rarely accurate," Mama replied with a blank look.

Grandpa stumbled and stuttered, then whirled on her with a thunderous expression. "I am never wrong and you know it!"

She shook her head and didn't reply, letting him have his outburst. She changed the subject once he calmed. "I'm guessing that the police eliminated Inuyasha as a suspect, now that three of the men have died and they haven't come around yet." (DL: Yes, three. Remember how a night passed in Sengoku Jidai? One death a night, remember that. Phantom's on a timetable.)

Grandpa sighed. "And it would only raise their suspicions to come around now and find that he and Kagome are both gone."

Mama nodded, hoping that the police wouldn't come around. She'd heard about the note left behind, and couldn't help but think that the Phantom was a horribly troubled man, who deserved his revenge. The way he asked **not** to be praised and that he wasn't proud of what he was doing hinted at a large, warm heart. She truly wanted to find this man and comfort him and his ravaging pain. She couldn't imagine what he had gone through, how badly it must have hurt him.

And as a mother who wanted nothing but happiness for her loved ones, she wanted to know how badly he hurt, and she wanted to make him feel all better. From the way the note sounded, he loved his wife more than anything else on the planet, and likely the galaxy, and the loss of her -- along with their daughter -- must have torn him apart. Probably repeatedly. She could imagine that he has vivid nightmares of what happened that keeps him awake and in pain.

It was so sad. . .

". . . couldn't be working alone, do you think?" Grandpa was saying.

Mama shook herself out of her thoughts. "Oh, yeah, you're probably right," she agreed, though she had no idea what he was talking about anymore.

Grandpa gave her a stern look before he turned and went along with his dailt duties of the shrine. Mama sighed, somehow just knowing that Grandpa had known she wasn't listening.

Maybe she should stop feeling for a murderer and hope someone catches him before he develops a taste for death. Or rather, for inducing incredible pain and torture, and then killing. . . Still, it was hard not to feel bad for him and his loss.

_** Phantom **_

_Tsunemi Okiano._

The third on his list.

_He cut her third._

The third message. It meant more than it implied; Okiano had a penchant for using painful mind tricks on the girls they took, which he had not spared for His wife. Okiano was the main reason why th group remained free for so long; none of the girls ever wanted to turn them in for fear. It made Him believe in the strength of his wife even more, knowing that she braved her fear and pain and got her revenge.

He was sitting in a corner of his room, staring at the dresser on the far wall. He hadn't admitted this until now, but killing those men. . . He got satisfaction, and that was true, but with each death, his pain grew. At first he didn't understand it, and then he tried to ignore it, but now. . . now he understood.

She didn't like it when he killed. Not anymore, when he lived in a time and place where threats were too minimal, where death was extreme. Especially, she wouldn't want him to kill for her, in her memory or in her name. It would hurt her. So it hurt him, too.

But he couldn't stop now. His point hadn't been made, it wasn't complete. . . Three men left. Just three. He was halfway done. And then he could. . .

He shuddered, pain gripping his chest before he could finish the thought. _No, no no no,_ he thought. _I have to do this! I have to do it for her, for my daughter! _

Berating himself wasn't helping, and he knew that, but he couldn't stop arguing with the pain, trying to beat it into submission. It didn't seem to be working, but at the moment, it was all he could do.

"Wake up," he told himself, as though someone were calling for him in a dream. He shook his head sharply, his bottom lip quivering as his pain refused to let up. He slammed his fist down on the floor, crushing straight through the reinforced beams with hardly an effort. "Wake up!" he repeated.

"You are not asleep," Sesshomaru's voice replied. "Perhaps you should stop losing control of yourself. One would think you were not seven hundred years."

"Seven hundred and forty five," he corrected. "Forty six this year."

"Yes," Sesshomaru agreed with a nod, crossing over to him. "Yet you remain as juvenile as ever. This Sesshomaru should have thrown you out long ago."

"Stuff it; I'm not a charity case."

"Your note suggests otherwise."

He shrugged. He hadn't expected Sesshomaru to not find out, with his iron fist on his companies and loyal sources in every direction. "I had to explain myself before they all began to think that I was some psycho."

"I do not believe you have proved that you are not mad," Sesshomaru returned, seemingly bent on proving just how insignificant He was.

"Four of out five shrinks agree, I need a new shrink," he retorted sarcastically. "Go ahead, try to demean me. I'm about as low as I can get."

"That you are. What breed of hunter waits to kill only when the prey is already caged? Have you lost your glory?"

"I like that, how you make me feel worse." He sighed. "And how you refuse to say my name."

"I will not speak your name until the day you become yourself once more. This Sesshomaru vows it."

He glanced away, looking at his dresser again. "Yeah, I'm about as far from myself as I can get, aren't I? I just hope I don't turn out like you, or I'd really be screwed."

"That jest is not as amusing as you believe," Sesshomaru replied with a snarl. "Remember that it is I who -"

"Give it a rest," he interrupted. "I've had enough of your talks and power trips. Do I have to remind you who it was that defeated Kyomo?"

Sesshomaru's eyes gradually narrowed through the speech. "This Sesshomaru remembers that battle, remembers that you fell and needed the protection this Sesshomaru's Tensaiga to continue."

"Funny, I seem to remember you chucking it because Kyomo kept using it against you," he shot back.

In a fuming fury, Sesshomaru left the room, smashing the door when he closed it and making dents as he struggled to control his rage and stomped down the hall.

"That's three hundred twenty seven: Me; five hundred eighty two: Him," he tallied. "Damn, he's still smoking me. . ."

_** Following Night **_

Kagome had to practically drag Inuyasha back to her time with her when she returned. This is for many reasons. First, because Kouga heard about her return and came to see her. Naturally you'd assume this would start a fight, but it wasn't for the usual reason. It was because Kouga had clapsed Kagome's hands when he spoke to her, and the contact -- though she knew very well Kouga wouldn't harm her -- had made her flip.

And then Inuyasha tackled Kouga and told him to back off, and _that_ is when the fight began. After a short time Kagome's fear went away completely, and she got exhausted just watching them play the fool. In the end she turned away from them and went to sit with Sango and Shippo, and was purposely distant with Inuyasha when he came back, a little bloody and bruised from the scrapping.

Inuyasha had then acted the same way, turning his back and keeping his nose in the air in a huff. Kagome acted likewise and Inuyasha had clearly stated that she was going home alone this time. She agreed only to stop halfway to the well and pout about the stupid fight. Three seconds later of sitting and she noticed Inuyasha was sitting behind her, about an inch from being back-to-back with her.

He said he still refused to go back to her time with her, and was only making sure she got to the well okay. Kagome had laughed and hugged his back, telling him that he was coming if she had to drag him there.

To which he retorted with, "Good luck dragging **_me_** anywhere, wench!"

Although Kagome had tried to drag him, it was hard work because of the simple fact that they both kept laughing and struggling with one another. She fell down countless times from slipping, stopping, or being tripped, and somehow always ended up in his arms.

The second reason was because earlier he had heard a rumor of a shard and wanted to help Miroku and Sango search for it. They wouldn't reach the area for another day, at least, and Inuyasha was just itching for a reason to kill something. They left not long after Kouga did.

The third reason was that Shippo had said he wanted to stay with Kagome, so he hadn't gone with Sango and Miroku. When Kagome decided to go back, that left Shippo alone with Kaede, which Inuyasha was firmly against because, "The old hag would make him sneeze with her powders and other shit." He got a faceplant for that one.

The forth and seemingly strongest point was that he didn't know where Kikyo ran off to, and he'd had to talk to her but didn't get the chance to. Something about their past was all he'd say when asked about it.

Once they were through the well, she paused at the door and turned to face him.

She only had one question. "Just why did you fight with Kouga?"

"He touched you," Inuyasha replied easily. "I told him you were hurt and he did it anyway."

"He wasn't trying anything sinister, Inuyasha."

"I know that. But he has to learn."

She narrowed her eyes, but didn't say what she was thinking. _What am I, your property?_ She didn't say because she knew he was looking out for her and trying to keep her safe, and turned to enter the house. Mama was inside at the table, chatting and eating with Grandpa and Souta.

"Tadaima," she called.

Behind her, Inuyasha repeated her. "Tadaima!"

. . .Only he was much louder. Besides which, they'd all already looked up. Mama smiled and gestured them to the table, where two plates awaited them.

"Okaeri, Kagome," Souta greeted her. "Okaeri, Inuyasha-kun."

Curious, Kagome asked, "You were expecting us?" while Inuyasha nodded at Souta and began stuffing his face.

"It's been a few days," her mother explained.

Grandpa laughed. "She's been leaving food on the table for the past three days, waiting for you two."

Mama shrugged. "I wanted them to have warm food when they got back."

"Nofing wrong wif being preparred," Inuyasha said around his mouthful.

"Don't talk with your mouth full," Kagome hissed at him. Turning back to Mama, she asked, "Has anything new happened while we were gone?"

Mama nodded at the same time Kagome picked up her fork. "We got a call from the courts not a few hours ago. It seems the D.A. decided it was best to put you in therapy for a while -"

"**What?**" Kagome snapped, which consequently sent a piece of food flying from her lip towards Souta, who dodged the bit.

Inuyasha swallowed his mouthful and looked confused. "That's a bad thing?"

"I'm not going," she said firmly as Mama opened her mouth to explain.

"Therapy is where people go to talk about their problems," Mama told Inuyasha. "There, they can let go of their past, and learn ways to move forward."

"Sounds helpful," Inuyasha pointed out, looking at Kagome. "What's the big problem?"

"They don't let a third party in the room," Kagome gritted out.

"What's that mean?"

"That's mean that they let in the therapist and the patient," Mama explained, "and no one else."

"She's not going without me," Inuyasha said quickly and with full seriousness.

"I'm not going at all," Kagome amended.

"You don't have a choice, Kagome," Mama told her gently.

"Like hell I don't!" She slammed her palms on the table and stood, going straight up to her room without a glance at anyone.

Inuyasha remained seated for a few moments simply from stun, his chopsticks in his mouth and staring at the stairs. Kagome had never before snapped in her house, let alone at her mother. Which means that something about this therapist business made her extremely uneasy. He glanced at her mother in question.

"You should take your food and hers upstairs," Mama told him in answer. "Make sure she eats, and try to calm her down. None of us had a choice in this, but I'll fight to include you in her sessions."

Inuyasha nodded, not fully certain what all that meant, but picked up the plates and started up the stairs. He had a lot to ask her about, and wasn't going to let her sleep until he got the answers, in whole or in part. He had to understand this, why she resisted so. He had to know why she stormed out like she did, in front of her family and forgoing her dinner in the process.

He had to know.

_**:End Chapter:**_

TADA!

Let me address something here before I get all silly on you. . .

I'll admit that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but stealing is not. There's a difference here. Mainly being that only people who fear their own lack of talent would steal another person's hard-worked skills and proclaimed property. It's the sincerest form of disrespect to steal. Do you see the difference yet?

I loved the story, 'The Lucky Ones', so I used a few ideas from it, changing it as I saw fit, and to keep it from being stealing. I made those ideas as unique as I could without making them unrealistic, following the lines I believed Kagome and Inuyasha and the rest would take. I also told you where these ideas came from and recommended it. Therefore, I did not 'steal'.

I hold high respect for how that story was written and for how long. The ideas were superb, the characters were perfect, the storyline took turns I had never thought of; I couldn't help but spread the news of that fic. I saw things from a whole new perspective simply by reading that fic. Therefore, I did not 'steal'.

To not even say, at the beginning of a fic, what inspired it when the similarities are too close and too many to deny, is far from just stealing and disrespecting; it's flat-out low, as well as mind-numbingly unintelligent. With how many people have read Trans. and how many have loved it, it's almost a crime to believe none of these readers will read the stolen version of it and notice those similarities.

Now that I have explained my point in an intelligent and non-agressive way, I can leave it behind and continue on.

There are a few of you who believe you will not succumb to my Prayer Beads from Hell, and to those of you - you know who you are - I deeply regret bursting your bubble. For you see, there are few of you, and many. . . in my army.

**_:Has a World War II-plus-Trojan War-plus-Chinese Dynasty-plus-US Army Reserve-sized Army:_**

There now, you see? Now you can either submit to my Prayer Beads from Hell and review without being harmed, or you can refuse and be maimed. I have human and demon lives to spare. And to throw away. And to step on. And to use as toilet paper. Do you see where I'm going with this?

**_:Hears a sound like a low roar:_** Hey, what the. . . **_:Turns around, Army is turned against me: _**Yipe. I could really use Lui Kang right about now. . . Yo, Lui!

**_:No answer:_** . . . Raidon? Sonya Blade? Sub-Zero? Kitana? Somebody!

**_:Army charges at me:_** YAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! **_:Runs for mah life:_**

See ya! **_:Looks to the side:_** YAAAAHHH!


	15. Fighting Is Too Healthy!

"About me?"

She smiled. "As always."

To her surprise, he blushed a little. "You always think about me?"

_** Same Day, Higurashi Shrine **_

Grandpa gave her a stern look before he turned and went along with his daily duties of the shrine. Mama sighed, somehow just knowing that Grandpa had known she wasn't listening.

Maybe she should stop feeling for a murderer and hope someone catches him before he develops a taste for death. Or rather, for inducing incredible pain and torture, and then killing. . . Still, it was hard not to feel bad for him and his loss.

_** Phantom **_

"Funny, I seem to remember you chucking it because Kyomo kept using it against you," he shot back.

In a fuming fury, Sesshomaru left the room, smashing the door when he closed it and making dents as he struggled to control his rage and stomped down the hall.

"That's three hundred twenty seven: Me; five hundred eighty two: Him," he tallied. "Damn, he's still smoking me. . ."

_** Following Night **_

"You should take your food and hers upstairs," Mama told him in answer. "Make sure she eats, and try to calm her down. None of us had a choice in this, but I'll fight to include you in her sessions."

Inuyasha nodded, not fully certain what all that meant, but picked up the plates and started up the stairs. He had a lot to ask her about, and wasn't going to let her sleep until he got the answers, in whole or in part. He had to understand this, why she resisted so. He had to know why she stormed out like she did, in front of her family and forgoing her dinner in the process.

He had to know.

_**AE Forty Seven**_

Kagome didn't look like she was going to eat anything. In rather _annoyed_ Inuyasha, but he put the plates off to the side and sat at her feet while she sat on her bed, looking quite angry. She didn't look over at him when he entered or sat, which again annoyed him, but he kept quiet about it.

She didn't look like she was going to talk, either, so he began.

"What's so bad about seeing this therapist?"

"I don't need one," she ground out behind clenched teeth.

"Yeah, but why not humor the guy -- or girl, whatever."

"Because," she snapped, finally looking at him with a glare. "You don't know how observant they can be, and if I even hint at being a miko, he'd chock me up as nuts!"

He didn't understand all of that, her phrasing and words, but he understood what she was getting at. "So don't say anything."

"I wasn't planning on it," she snarled. "Do you know what happens to people in this time who get the 'crazy' label?"

"Uhh. . . no?"

"They get medication, they get put on record, so everywhere they go, everyone knows they're nuts! Or even worse, they get sent to a mental institution until the people there are deemed sane enough to live in the world again!"

"And you're afraid that's what'll happen to you?" he asked, confused about where this was going.

"Partially, yes, but I can't let them know there's something else out there."

"What's to say this therapist isn't a demon?"

She blinked. "What? You think they survived?"

He shrugged. "Look at Sesshomaru. He's more than strong enough to live through to this time, and I can't see him dying; not since Naraku was killed. What threat could possibly be bigger, anyway?"

Kagome opened her mouth, then shut it. "That's a good point. . ."

Inuyasha leaned against the bed. "Where do you suppose Naraku hid all those shards, anyway?"

She shrugged. When they defeated Naraku, the jewel he had with him turned out to be a fake; crystalized miasma again. He'd gotten smarter with it, making it so Kagome could sense it. Even though it didn't feel like the jewel, she hadn't been thinking of that, and told Inuyasha exactly where to strike. In the end, the false jewel shattered and Naraku had laughed at them when he died.

Which, she supposed, was exactly how a sinister, twisted genius should die. The problem was the jewel. They looked all around the area and sniffed out where his castle was, but not only was there no sign of the jewel, there was no sign of Kohaku, either. Since Kagome could sense nothing nearby, it was everyone's guess – more like, everyone's hope – that he had simply gone somewhere else once freed of Naraku.

The fact that Kagura and Kanna died as well proved that Naraku himself had died, which would have freed Kohaku instantly. What scared Sango was the thought that no one knew what he would do with his newfound freedom.

"Maybe he broke the jewel again and hid it in different places," she suggested, trying not to think of Kohaku anymore. "Places he thought we would never check."

"Then maybe he stuffed some up his ass," Inuyasha returned with a disgusted face.

"Oh, ewww Inuyasha!" she gagged. "That was **wrong!**" She coughed, trying not to let herself get an imagery of that.

"Well he knew we wouldn't check there before disintegrating him," he reasoned.

"Naraku wouldn't -- oh Kami, I think I'm getting a mental picture. . . Yuck, Inuyasha!" She covered her eyes, stuck out her tongue and tried not to think.

Inuyasha was laughing now. "Sorry, I shouldn't have suggested it, but. . . come on, it's reasonable."

"You're a disgusting little hanyou and you need to get your mouth washed out," she babbled on. Anything to keep from thinking about. . . _that._

He laughed again. "Maybe, but you love me anyways."

She couldn't help her smile at that. "You wriggled your way into my heart; don't think you can't wriggle your way back out," she half-teased, half-warned.

"Wriggle this" he muttered back.

Before Kagome had uncovered her eyes, she was pounced on, throwing her back on the bed and ultimately trapping under him. At the same moment she opened her mouth to yell and had begun narrowing her eyes, he kissed her, and took the opportunity her mouth had 'opened' by deepening the kiss.

As a consequence, she couldn't form the words, nor the voice, to yell at him and her eyes drifted shut at the feeling that he invoked in her. She was only mildly aware of her arms lifting, of them wrapping themselves around his neck to keep him there. How he could do this to her, she'll never know, but she doubted she would ever care to find out.

Then he kissed down the side of her neck, stopping at her shoulder. He rested his head there, leaving himself in a position perfect for cuddling, and likely on purpose. Kagome had little choice but to hold him a little bit tighter to her, letting his warmth work its way into her skin, reminding her just what kind of man she'd chosen when she chose Inuyasha. And once again, she found herself thinking that he really was sexy when he wanted to be, and hoping he'd never learn that and try to use it against her.

And then he said, "I think we let the food get cold."

She couldn't help but laugh. "Typical man. When you're not thinking with your stomach, you're acting on its behalf."

"On behalf of my stomach, I think it'd prefer to eat gallons of you than your mother's cooking."

She blushed. "I hope you didn't mean that in the way I think you meant it. . ."

"I meant it in every way. . . except cannibalism."

She laughed. "I feel lucky, then." She patted his shoulder before reaching higher to rub his ear. His ears were just so _soft_, she didn't know how anybody couldn't love them.

He gave a small moan at the touch, and for a moment after, she thought she heard purring. While it would have been cute, she had the sneaking suspicion that he'd done it on purpose, to try and make her smile.

Which it did. She was practically grinning, and hated herself for letting it get to her so much. In fact she chuckled and tilted her chin up, in hopes that if he looked and tried to see her face, he wouldn't see her smile; how easily and predictably she fell into his games.

If they were games. Perhaps he was just teasing her because it got her mad at him.

She scratched his ear a little, half because she was annoyed at the thought, and half to see how he would react to it.

He definitely moaned a bit louder, then reached up and pulled her hand away. "Maybe you shouldn't do that. . . not with your nails."

She smirked. "So, then, if I had claws. . ."

He laughed. "If you had claws, right about now you'd be digging them into my back while screaming for more."

She blushed, and badly at that. "I turned you into a perverted jerk!"

"I was this way for years, just never around _you_."

The way he was talking continued to make her blush, made no better by the fact that he was talking into her neck, and seemed to be limp on top of her, as though they _had_ just. . . made love.

It was then that she realized just how sexual of a position they were in and could have flipped about it, but instead she found herself smiling. She knew what this meant, if no one else did.

She didn't need a therapist. Inuyasha was all the help she'd ever need. If it were any other man at this moment, she knew without a doubt that she'd have thrown him off her, possibly began crying at the memories it would have brought up. But instead, she was letting Inuyasha stay just like this, and not only was she not remembering anything disturbing, she found she couldn't bring up the memories, even if she tried.

As long as she was with Inuyasha, she was safe, both from physical attacks and mental ones. He gave her peace, though she didn't understand how or why. Maybe it was that in her mind, he was a pillar of strength and determination, blocking off the painful thoughts to keep her happy and warm. Or maybe it was simply something Inuyasha had imbedded in him, likely from his father, to naturally radiate these feelings.

Or maybe she was overanalyzing things.

She closed her eyes again with a contented smile, realizing that her hand was still in Inuyasha's, held above her breast; above her heart. That fact was entirely symbolic to her, and she had to wonder if it was an unconscious move on his part, or if he'd done it on purpose, to remind her how connected they were.

So now, he was a strong, sweet, cute, caring, sexy, perverted jerk and she found herself loving him all the more for it. After all, how many men could multitask, let alone that well?

Question being, was she lucky to find him, or cursed? He was already so difficult. . . But he was definitely getting sweeter. That was a plus, wasn't it?

The continual warmth coming from Inuyasha was lulling her to sleep. And as she began to drift off, he spoke again.

"Just go and see what happens. I'm sure they'll let me come with. If you want to go at any time, just tell me."

She had no strength left to argue, and at the same time, his words made sense. She mumbled something incoherent and sighed. "Fine. . ."

_** School, Next Morning **_

Kagome met Ayumi before school, as she usually did. Inuyasha couldn't protest this morning because he'd been stuffing his face at the time, neither of them having eaten last night, but he still tried to keep her there. Nonetheless, Kagome was at school now, and waved at Ayumi as she came into sight.

But Ayumi didn't look happy. As they met, Ayumi said, "Something bad happened."

Again? Kagome sighed. "What is it now?" she asked, thinking it was something related to her.

"Hojo got hurt."

Kagome blinked at that. Well, it wasn't related to her, but she still felt bad. "How?"

"We don't know yet. He's at the hospital – someone broke his arm and knocked him out."

Kagome bit her lip. There was an ache in her heart that told her it was somehow her fault, so she had to ask, "Does anybody know anything about it yet?"

Ayumi shook her head. "Not yet, no. He was just taken a few minutes ago. The only thing the police gathered was that he argued with somebody. . ."

Kagome glanced away. Her feelings told her to look into this, despite her better judgement. She really couldn't afford to lose another day of school, but she felt she should go to the hospital and talk to Hojo, if only to prove to herself that he was okay and she had nothing to worry about.

Still, she shook her head. She and her friends would visit Hojo after school. . . likely with the rest of the female grade accompanying.

"He should be okay there," she told Ayumi. "Let's go; we can visit him after school to find out what happened."

"But what if his attacker is still around?" Ayumi worried. "Then he or she could –"

"Won't try it again," Kagome interrupted. "The attacker won't do it again, for fear of being caught."

Ayumi waited a moment before nodding. "You're probably right; we have nothing to fear. . ."

The way Ayumi said that made Kagome think that she didn't really believe it, and was trying to convince herself. Kagome nodded as well. "Let's find Eri and Yuka."

Eri and Yuka were talking amongst themselves just outside their first classroom. When they spotted Kagome, then came over and began talking all at once. Unfortunately they were talking at the _same time_ and Kagome couldn't understand a word. Nonetheless she nodded and 'hmm'd affirmatively, not really caring what it was she was agreeing with.

In the back of her mind, she just knew that Ayumi was watching her in a concerned way, but she found she couldn't respond to it at the moment. Any and all further responding was interrupted by the bell ringing loudly, and they all went into the classroom and took their seats.

Around lunchtime is when they heard it.

There were whispers everywhere about how Hojo had gotten hurt, and rumors that he had done it protecting Kagome. Seeing as how Kagome wasn't at school when he got hurt, she didn't see how that could be possible, but the whispers continued. One person claimed to have heard him as he got taken away, saying something about keeping Kagome safe. Which, apparently, is how the rumor started.

If this were true, then she knew that it meant Hojo was still in love with her and couldn't seem to give up. She knew, as well, that she was going to have to help him fall out of love, but she didn't know how to. She hadn't even figured out how to make a man fall in love, let alone _out_ of love.

She supposed there was always the chance of putting the cold hard facts to use. . . She could bring Inuyasha and kiss him to show Hojo that they were in love and she wouldn't ever return his feelings. . . But then there was the chance, the possibility, that Hojo wouldn't much care about her current love life and would continue to love her despite who she chose.

She hoped he would let go. It was for his own good, really.

After school, as she expected, Inuyasha was waiting on the roof for her. He tended to come here and follow her back, thinking he wouldn't be noticed by her. Just to make sure she got home okay. When he saw her on the roof, he glanced away and shrugged as though she was going to ask him why.

"Hojo got hurt this morning," she began. Inuyasha looked quite surprised at the topic.

"So?"

"So, there's a rumor he got hurt trying to protect me somehow. I'm going to go to the hospital and see him."

"Like hell!"

"Sit." When he fell, she came over and sat by him. "I need to know what happened, Inuyasha. You can't stop me, but if you want to come with. . ."

"Keh!" he snorted as he sat up. "Who'd want to see that weakling?"

"Would you stop calling everyone a weakling?" she snapped. "Just because they're not _you –_"

"Is reason enough!" he interrupted.

She wanted to slap him at that, the arrogant jerk. "Not everyone can be a super-strong ageless hanyou, Inuyasha!"

"Ageless?" he echoed.

She didn't feel like going on about that. "Whether you like it or not, this world is full of humans that will never reach your circle of power, so why don't you quit calling everyone 'weak' and try to see how strong they really are!" She stood up and headed straight for the door, pausing to say, "I won't be long at the hospital, so don't worry about that, and I'll have my friends walk me back."

She didn't look back to see if her words had struck home with him or not. She went straight downstairs, not thinking about the odd quiet that seemed to have overcome him. Meeting her friends at the door, she waved 'hello' to them and together the four of them trekked to the hospital.

When they entered Hojo's room, it was obvious that he'd seen better days. While Ayumi, Eri and Yuka all seemed to flip and began fawning all over him, Kagome had seen worse and shrugged it off. Hojo had a black eye, and a bad one at that, as well as a cast on his arm and an IV needle in his good arm. He attempted a wave at her, hissed in pain, winced and leaned back into his pillows.

Kagome stepped up to the bed with a bit of a lag. This is partially because of the lack of surprise at his wounds and her own anxiety towards men as a whole. Still, she managed a respectful bow before sitting in a chair near the bed.

Getting straight down to business, she said, "I came here to find out what happened."

Hojo nodded. "Ah. . . I don't think you'd forget, but do you remember searching around for the guy who doctored that picture of you?"

She nodded. "I remember, yes. Did you find him?"

"Her," Hojo corrected.

All girls blinked at that, and echoed, "Her?"

"Why do you think I didn't fight back?" he asked. "It was a girl. From what she told me, she was really jealous of you, Kagome."

"Jealous?" Kagome repeatedly with something of an insane laugh. She cleared her throat. "Doesn't she watch the news?"

"Well, yes, but that was half the point," Hojo went on. "She said. . ."

_** Hojo's Morning **_

"So _you're_ the one who did this?" Hojo asked, surprised.

The girl he was talking to was a freshman, but who at the moment looked positively evil. She had a fire in her eyes that seemed to be half from anger and half from hurt. Vaguely, he remembered meeting her before, but nothing solid enough to bring forth a name.

"Yes, it was me, and I'm damn proud of it!" she snapped. Her hair was wavy and shone in a deep shade of red, and her eyes were dark violet. Hair pulled back into a ponytail, glasses on the end of her nose, she looked like she'd just gotten done doing something important – to a bookworm.

"Why, though? Why go after Kagome?"

"Because she doesn't deserve any of this!" the girl went on with a wild flailing of her arms. "All this news coverage, all these admirers about how strong she is, that bodyguard – your undying affections! She's a stupid harlot, that's what she is and she deserves humiliation!"

Hojo's more protective side surged up. "You have no right to say any of that! You don't know Kagome – "

"I don't need to! I've seen her, always missing school, always trying to subtlely push you away and you never getting the hint. . . You deserve someone better, like me!"

"A freshman?" he asked in disbelief. "A freshman who tries to sabotage the competition? I'd sooner deserve a lab rat!"

In retrospect, it was that comment, said in shock and anger, which landed him where he was now.

The girl screamed. "You don't even know what I could do for you!"

"Just like _you_ don't have any idea what kind of person Kagome is! If there's anyone I know who needs a little humiliation, it's **_you!_**"

That's when she swung.

She had something in her hand all along, something hard and slender like a bat or a rod of some sort. Hojo never knew what it was, exactly. The first hit he had tried to block, which succeeded in giving him a nice bruise. He'd tried to recoil before she could swing again, but she was a lot quicker than she looked and her second swing had snapped the bone.

The sudden pain overwhelmed him for about a second, but that second was, apparently, crucial. He lost his footing, stumbled, and finally fell back. The girl came up to him, and she gave a yell akin to that of a harpy's before she began kicking at him. The pain of his arm mixed with the gentlemanly way he was raised kept him strictly on the defensive, made no easier by how fast she was moving.

He felt one kick land on his eye, and for a moment he blacked out. When he looked up again, the girl was gone, and had taken her weapon with. Someone yelled about an attack and he had looked up, expecting to see someone pointing – but not towards him. Getting up proved futile; he'd made the mistake of leaning on his broken arm and with a yelp, he was down again, new pain surging through his arm and shoulder.

It wasn't long before they had him on painkillers and stuffed into an ambulance. The painkillers had hit hard and fast, and he hadn't the slightest clue what he had said in that time. He came to when the doctors had nearly finished putting on his cast.

_** Present Time **_

The girls had remained perfectly quiet during this, and when Hojo stopped, Kagome unconsciously gave an exasperated sigh.

_This is just great,_ she thought, dropping her head into her hand. _Bad enough that I've gotten so much coverage with the rape and trial? Oh no, now this has to show up. . . I'll be the most famous Japanese schoolgirl in history by the time this is over!_

"Are you okay, Kagome-chan?" Hojo asked.

She looked up and smiled. "You really should be worrying over yourself," she half-laughed.

He laughed in return, then blinked and seemed to notice something.

"What is it?" Yuka asked, pushing her hair back behind her ear.

"That Inuyasha fellow isn't here."

They all looked at Kagome in question. She laughed nervously. "Yeah, he didn't know I'd be heading here after school," she lied. Searching for another topic, she said quickly, "I'll bet you'll be healed up and back to your old self in no time, with all your miracle cures."

Hojo laughed. "Yeah, mom dropped some of them off a couple hours ago." He gestured his bedside table, which was half covered in weird-looking fruits and oddball items.

"What's this do?" Eri asked, poking one of them.

"That one cures any ache when put in hot water and drunk," he explained.

"How's about this one?" Yuka said while poking a different one.

"That one you wear on your head. It dissolves negative energy."

Kagome smiled, seeing that everything was going well. "Guys?" she asked.

They all glanced up. "Would one of you walk me back home?"

Ayumi smiled at her. "I'll go. I'm sure these two can keep Hojo alive and well."

"That's up for debate," Kagome muttered under her breath. It was loud enough for Hojo to hear, to which he laughed.

"I have a button I can push to call a nurse if things get out of hand," he whispered to her.

She snickered. "Have the button ready."

They waved their goodbyes before leaving the hospital. If not for that black eye, Hojo really didn't seem all that banged up, despite what that girl had attempted. And as Kagome thought about it, she found herself thinking that the girl would likely attack her again, probably more directly. That made her uneasy, but not because she feared an attack so much as she feared what she could do to that girl.

One human girl versus a highly powerful miko who was itching for something to hurt? The odds certainly weren't in the girl's favor. . . Still, Kagome put that out of her mind for now, deciding to relate the story to Inuyasha later on so he'd be on the look out for that girl coming to the house or school.

"Tadaima!" she called as she entered the house, waving Ayumi away as she did so. Surprisingly, she got welcomes from only three occupants, when she knew there were four.

"Where's Inuyasha?" she asked, glancing in the living room and up the stairs.

Mama answered her. "He went up to your room. He might've fallen asleep."

"Arigatou, Mama," she replied, beginning to go up the stairs.

"I talked to him earlier," Mama said, stopping her.

Her guilt got to her then, and she lowered her chin. "I didn't mean to yell at him," she whispered to herself.

"What was that, Kagome?"

She jumped and shook her head as she spun around. "N-nothing, what did you talk about?"

"A man Souta had seen yesterday. And about the forth death. . ."

"So that Phantom guy is still killing the criminals?" Kagome asked carefully, avoiding words that would cause her discomfort.

"Yes, I'm afraid so. But I think he was telling the truth in those letters, that the world would never hear of him again once he finishes."

"So basically when two days go by without word of him, he's done?"

"I believe so."

"And you said something a man?"

Mama nodded and finally turned to face Kagome. "Souta saw a man. . ." She explained what Souta had said, what she said to Inuyasha, her feelings on the matter.

And at the end, Kagome nodded. "I don't think he's anything to worry about."

Mama looked shocked. "But Kagome –"

"I'm sorry, Mama, but I've learned to trust my instincts," Kagome replied. "I'm not getting a bad feeling from this, so he can't be a bad guy. Trust _me_, Mama. I'm a miko."

Mama looked more shocked from that last part, about Kagome being a miko. Despite everything that had happened and been said, Kagome had never said a word about her being a miko before. Which means, despite how obvious it was at times, it was still news to the family.

At length, Mama smiled and nodded in return. "Alright, Kagome. I trust you."

"Kagome no miko-sama, eh?" Grandpa echoed, coming in. He looked solemn at first, but then he cried a river of tears and pranced happily about the kitchen. "My granddaughter, a miko! A miko of the Sengoku Jidai! Ah, what luck we have!"

Kagome shook her head at his antics and went up the stairs, intent on confronting Inuyasha. She highly doubted that he was asleep, as he rarely ever slept when she wasn't here in her room or with him. She opened the door slowly, giving him time to get up or sit down or jump out the window, if that's what he wanted.

He was sitting in his usual place on the floor with Tessaiga over his shoulder. His head was down and his eyes were closed, but Kagome still doubted he was asleep.

She dropped her bag on the floor and sat down beside him. She knew him well enough by now to know that if something was bothering him he'd tell her, especially when it concerned her. The most she could do at the moment was sit there and wait.

After a long moment, he spoke. "Why did you call me ageless?"

She blinked. That was _it?_ She yelled at him back there and the only thing he was curious about was her choice of wording? Her anger rose in her chest but she fought it back and looked at him.

"Because," she began, "aren't you?"

He shook his head. "I don't know. As far as I know, I'm the oldest hanyou from Sengoku Jidai. From the real Jidai, not Hijiri island, I mean."

She nodded. "I got that. Why do you let it bother you?"

He shook his head again. "I don't know how long I'll live. I don't know if I'll live long enough to go through time the long way or not."

"Well, how old are you now? I think I remember Myouga-jiji saying something about it. . ." She paused, pressing a fingertip to her chin as she thought.

"Don't strain yourself," he warned and glanced up, finally. "I'd tell you, but I don't think you want to know yet."

"Why? Are you that old or that young?"

He didn't make a move then. Nothing of his demeanor leaned towards either answer, leaving her baffled as to how old he really was.

"Tell me," she pressed. "I'd like to know, Inuyasha."

"Keh," he scoffed, looking away. "You say that now. But you'd just tease me about being immature, like you always do."

She couldn't stop her smile at that, no matter how angry she tried to be. She hugged him around the shoulders. "I'll tease you forever about it, that's true, but it'll have no effect either way from knowing your age."

He glanced up at her again, but just with his eyes. "Kagome. . ."

She didn't let her smile fade at all. "Tell me," she repeated.

He shut his eyes as though he was debating with himself. Kagome let go of him and sat back, waiting for the answer she knew was coming.

"One hundred and fifty three," he said. He glanced at her with his eyes again, and then away, half-turning from her.

"That's it?" she asked, grinning.

He looked back at her sharply with wide eyes and his jaw dropped. "Th-th. . . that's **_it?_**" he echoed. "What, were you expecting me to already be five hundred or something!"

She giggled. "Not at all. In fact I originally thought you were seventeen or eighteen. . ."

His eye twitched. "Keh! Wench," he spat, looking away again.

She snickered. "One hundred fifty three," she repeated. "I didn't know if you'd ever counted that high before now."

"What's that supposed to mean!" he snapped quickly, turning to face her. Tessaiga dropped off his shoulder and clanked on the floorboards.

She shrugged, but she was smirking. "It's just that I don't see a reason why you'd bother counting that high."

"Keh!" he scoffed again and turned his back to her.

She wet her lips before going on. "Mama told you about the guy Souta saw?"

He nodded, seemingly refusing to face her for the time being. "She told me, yeah."

"I'm not afraid of him," she said easily.

He nodded again. "I didn't get a bad feeling, either. So he's harmless, or. . ."

"Or means us no harm," she finished. "Do you think he'll show up again?"

He sighed and leaned back. "Who can tell?"

Kagome raised a brow. "Inuyasha, I'm asking what you think."

He looked at her. "He'll show up again. I think the entire point of being here when Souta came home was to make himself known."

"Now that that's over. . ?"

"He'll wait until the right time to come back. Kagome, after thinking about this. . ." He sat up again and looked at her carefully.

She had a feeling she knew what he was going to say. "Have you discovered something?"

"He's gotta be a demon," Inuyasha said quickly. "What they said about those slips of paper – they have to be ofudas. I'm going to ask Miroku about them, if there are ofudas like that."

She nodded. "But you were going to say more than that, weren't you?"

He looked a little surprised then. "Well, yeah, but I'm not sure if I'm right, so I won't tell you about it yet."

"So what, you're just going to wait to tell me until you're proved right or wrong?"

He nodded. "I have to be positive first."

She sighed. "Alright, I won't press the issue." With a smile, she added, "I thought I was going to come up here and you were going to snap at me for yelling at you."

Inuyasha blinked, then narrowed his eyes. "Hey, yeah! What was with that, anyway!"

She grinned. "Well, now that everything's back in order. . ."

It took another moment for them to get into a full-blown argument about. . . arguing. They snapped and scoffed, pouted and glared, just like they always did. And in truth, both of them were enjoying themselves greatly.

Until Kagome sat him.

_**:End Chapter:**_

Oy. . . You know, Hojo's owies were spur-of-the-moment. Still, I don't think too many readers are going to be concerned about it. XD To add a side-note:

I have WordPerfect now! YAY me! I'm back to having a spellchecker that'll spot any and all mistypes, go me! I can also use the thesaurus to further expand my vocabulary so YAY for that, too! **_:Grins happily:_**

I got a neat review for the previous chapter, stating that putting little side-comments in parenthesis throughout the chapter isn't a very bright thing to do. (Oh yeah, I'm not quoting it for fear of deletion.) Here's my rebuttal:

If I didn't put the comments where they were and instead waited until the end of the chapter, wouldn't it seem out of place? How many people would I confuse if I'd have said "But don't expect her to admit it!" at the very bottom? Pretty much everyone, huh? Don't let the parenthesis get to you. These comments aren't my own without the "DL" in front of it, showing I said it. On the contrary, these parenthesis are like back-of-the-mind comments by the characters in question. Thoughts behind their thoughts.

And now that that is out of the way. . .

**_:Activates prayer beads across the country and Canada:_** Mwa ha ha! Sit, stay, roll over, play dead, sit up, fetch, bring in the newspaper, get the frisbee –

**Inu:_ :Does all of the tricks and comes up to me with the frisbee in his mouth:_**

**Me:** . . . Okay, what did they do to YOU?

**Inu: _:Tilts head cutely and whines:_**

**Me:** Ahh, forget it. **_:Tosses the frisbee again:_**

See ya!


	16. Conflicts Of All Sorts

"Just go and see what happens. I'm sure they'll let me come with. If you want to go at any time, just tell me."

She had no strength left to argue, and at the same time, his words made sense. She mumbled something incoherent and sighed. "Fine. . ."

_**School, Next Morning **_

"Jealous?" Kagome repeatedly with something of an insane laugh. She cleared her throat. "Doesn't she watch the news?"

"Well, yes, but that was half the point," Hojo went on. "She said. . ."

_**Hojo's Morning **_

It wasn't long before they had him on painkillers and stuffed into an ambulance. The painkillers had hit hard and fast, and he hadn't the slightest clue what he had said in that time. He came to when the doctors had nearly finished putting on his cast.

_**Present Time **_

She grinned. "Well, now that everything's back in order. . ."

It took another moment for them to get into a full-blown argument about. . . arguing. They snapped and scoffed, pouted and glared, just like they always did. And in truth, both of them were enjoying themselves greatly.

Until Kagome sat him.

_**AE Forty Eight**_

Next day, Kagome didn't go to school. Not because she didn't want to; on the contrary, she missed the boring classes where she could easily get a few more winks. No, she missed school because that was when she was scheduled to have her first therapy session.

As Mama had said, she fought tooth and nail for Kagome to allow Inuyasha to come with her to the session, and in the end, whether or not Mama had won didn't matter – Inuyasha barged right in, as though he deserved to be there, and stared down anyone who attempted to say otherwise.

In the room itself, which actually _did_ have one of those long couches, she laid down as instructed but with one major difference: she was using Inuyasha as a pillow instead of the arm of the chair. Inuyasha had sat down first, back to the arm, and when Kagome laid down, he put his arms around her and fixed the therapist with a make-her-cry-and-you-die kind of glare.

The therapist herself was a tall and thin woman with long hair held in a bun with short bangs and small, round spectacles. She was wearing a nice, dark blue suit, had the curtains shut, and a small lamp lit on her desk. She was sitting in a big, comfy chair across from the sofa with a pen and pad of paper in her hands. Beside her on the arm, she clicked a recorder to begin before asking any questions. She began with,

"Why did you bring him with you?"

Kagome didn't answer, merely relaxed in Inuyasha's arms, defiant of this order. She turned her face away from the woman.

"Oh, forgive me," the woman said. "My name is Sarah Lanes. You may call me Sarah or Ms. Lanes if you don't like calling me 'doctor'."

Another few moments went by before Sarah broke into the full questionnaire, asking about the littler things of Kagome's ordeal, always in gentle tones, always looking directly at Kagome, and Kagome never gave an answer. She ignored Sarah completely, still miffed about being here to begin with, but a bit calmer with Inuyasha holding her.

At the hour marker, Kagome began to get up, and Sarah stopped her with one dreadful statement.

"Our time is not yet up, miss."

Kagome blinked and for the first time, she spoke. "What do you mean? I thought all these sessions were supposed to be over after an hour!"

"They normally do, yes," Sarah agreed, standing as Kagome had. Inuyasha remained firmly seated but his glare intensified on Sarah. "However, the court order was to keep you here for two hours. I apologize if this is an –"

"I can't believe they pulled this!" Kagome snapped. Reacting to her anger, Inuyasha stood at last and hugged her tightly to him. Near inaudibly, he'd begun growling.

Sarah shook her head. "The order was neither mine to give nor to reject. I am sorry you seem so angered by this, Kagome, but –"

"Why don't you just shut the fuck up already?" Inuyasha snapped.

Sarah jumped at his forceful tone. "Because it is a therapist's job to ask questions. If you two will just sit down. . ."

Kagome turned her back to Sarah, but refused to sit. Securely wrapped in Inuyasha's arms, she no longer had a hold on her anger, which drifted away as a bead of water would leave its brothers over a waterfall. She leaned into Inuyasha in something akin to abandon, as though she were leaving her body behind to join her soul with his, somewhere far away from _this_ room and _that_ woman.

Sarah sighed heavily and sat back down. Striking a strong, straight-backed pose, she asked the question Kagome hated most.

"How do you feel?"

How did one answer that? What exactly was she referring to with that question? Was she asking about how Kagome felt now, how she did yesterday, or the day of her rape? Perhaps it had nothing to do with the answer, but how long it took to answer, if one answered at all. Trying for a light tone, Kagome replied, "Well, as you stated, a moment ago I was very angry."

She didn't know why she answered that. There didn't seem to be a reason why she'd answer that question and no other. It was, after all, a much bigger question than the rest Sarah had asked.

"You are not angry now?" Sarah asked quietly.

Kagome shook her head.

"Can you tell me why that is?"

Kagome glanced up at Inuyasha, who was still giving Sarah a Death Glare, but spared a moment to look down at Kagome and smile faintly, as though reassuring her that everything was perfectly okay.

Still holding his gaze, she said simply, "It's hard to stay angry when you're in the arms of the one you love."

Inuyasha's eyes softened considerably. For a moment Kagome was certain he was going to kiss her, in front of the therapist; perhaps give her something to write about. But he just hugged her a little more completely and dropped his head to nuzzle her shoulder lightly.

For a moment, neither of them noticed that Sarah was even in the room.

_**Hospital **_

Not long after they left the therapist's, Kagome decided to drop in on Hojo and see how he was holding up. Inuyasha's accompaniment was actually a mix between her having to threaten him and his reluctance to let her go anywhere by herself, let alone to see another man.

The nurses allowed her in and she waved hello to Hojo. Inuyasha trailed behind with narrowed eyes and a high nose. He looked like a prince that was despairing over where he was and whom he came to see.

Hojo smiled brightly at the sight of Kagome. "Hey, Kagome-chan. Aren't you supposed to be at school?"

"I was forced into visiting a therapist today," she replied none too gently.

"Ouch," Hojo replied, then glanced up at Inuyasha. "Inuyasha, right? Hi."

Inuyasha stood at the door, unmoving, refusing to reply.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome hissed. "Come over here and take a seat."

It was with great reluctance and an obvious internal battle of wills that Inuyasha crossed the room and sat beside Kagome, pouting more than despairing at this point. Kagome rolled her eyes at him before returning to Hojo.

"He's been treating you good?" he asked, carefully.

Kagome smiled. "He's harmless, really."

"What?" Inuyasha snapped, anger heavy in his tone.

"Like a cuddly puppy," Kagome told him, her eyes glittering with mischief, knowing he'd be extremely put off by that.

Inuyasha huffed and got up, going over to the window which he faced and stared out of, apparently engrossed with interest at the tree five feet away.

Hojo snickered, then cleared his throat when Inuyasha glared at him in warning. "So how was therapy?" he asked.

Kagome groaned in obvious discomfort. "It was stupid. I don't need therapy. She made me stay there for two hours, not one."

Hojo bit his lip. "Definitely sounds painful. And here I was the one on painkillers, when you need them way more desperately."

Kagome laughed. "Who knew you could joke?" she teased.

He shrugged, then winced and rubbed his shoulder. "Apparently I couldn't till I got that knock to the skull. I think it knocked the jokes loose or something."

She laughed again. "Joking suits you, Hojo-kun."

He blushed slightly.

Then Inuyasha was beside his bed, poking his cast. "What's this thing?"

Hojo leaned a little away from Inuyasha. "It's a cast."

"What's it do?"

Kagome shooed Inuyasha away from Hojo. "It's made to keep his arm still while the bones heal. Like a stick and wraps."

He nodded, then resumed poking the cast.

"You need to stop that," Kagome told him in a warning tone.

Hojo smiled. "But if you wanna sign it. . ."

Inuyasha raised a brow.

"Like this. . ." Kagome began, picking up a marker. She signed Hojo's cast, along with five other names – all girl's names, she noticed.

"What's the point of _that?_" Inuyasha asked incredulously.

"Keeping count," Hojo suggested. "I don't really know, but it's popular."

"And it helps the healing process," Kagome said matter-of-factly.

"It does?" Hojo and Inuyasha asked in unison.

She nodded. "As everyone signs their names, their spirits go with it, to help you heal. With enough names and energy infused in the cast, it could heal in three days!"

Inuyasha scoffed while Hojo sighed. They both knew she was making it up, but at least the thought was nice. Heal a broken bone in three days from infused spirits of those who signed the cast? It would be magical.

Or demonic, in Inuyasha's case.

"No way a human could heal that fast," Inuyasha said harshly.

"You're a human; what are you complaining about?" Hojo replied quickly.

Kagome and Hojo were both stunned at his quick and somewhat hard rebuttal, while Inuyasha was angered at being called a human. But before he could reply, Kagome tried to defuse the situation.

"Don't you dare yell at him, Inuyasha!" she warned as he opened his mouth.

"What the fuck are you defending him for?" he snapped at her.

"And don't yell at **me!**" she added. "We're in a hospital where injured people get better; they need their rest and they won't get any when you get going!"

Inuyasha's shoulders lifted a little, his fists clenched and he bared his fangs. All in all, he looked extremely angry. Kagome stared him down, crossing her arms and leaning on her left leg more, lifting her nose stubbornly.

They continued to stare at one another for a long moment, one that seemed to just keep going. It ended after what had to have been five whole minutes of nothing but staring, when Hojo said, "Look, Kagome. . ."

And Inuyasha exploded with rage that Kagome actually looked away to answer Hojo.

"Yes, Hojo?"

"What the – You can't just ignore me, wench!" he snapped, his voice rough with his growl.

"I can do whatever I please and you can't stop me!" she snapped back.

Inuyasha looked like he was going to snap again, but instead he took two steps towards her and grabbed her around the waste, saying fiercely, "You couldn't resist me if you tried!"

"Watch me!" she snapped back, stepping out of his reach. She pointed at the door. "Now just get out! I can find my way back by myself!"

Oh, but that one pissed him off. "I'm not leaving you here alone with another man!"

"I'm in a _hospital!_ What do you think is going to happen, huh, Inuyasha? Hojo's just going to limp over here and try to force himself on me, and all the while I'll be quiet and no one would think to check in here or even look in the _open door_?"

A nurse had appeared during her part of the rant and said, "You're disturbing the patients –"

"Stay out of this!" Kagome and Inuyasha shouted at the nurse.

The nurse stuttered for a moment before saying quickly, "You're that Higurashi girl!"

Kagome ignored her, as Inuyasha was doing as well.

"I don't care what could happen, I'm not going to let the chance take place!" Inuyasha was yelling at her.

"Good for you, but you're crazy if you think **I** will let something like that happen!"

"Maybe I am crazy, what're you gonna do about it, sit me?"

"Don't tempt me! You know very well I would! And I told you to go back already!"

"I'm not leaving you here!" he roared loudest of all.

Both he and Kagome stared down each other at this point, panting from their anger. They turned their backs on each other, leaving Kagome facing the door and Inuyasha facing the window. The door was now occupied by five or six nurses, each staring at Kagome as one would a legend proved to be true.

Then one of the nurses came forward and lifted a shaky hand. "Higurashi Kagome, correct?"

"What's it to you?" Kagome asked, her voice still angry but much quieter.

The nurse moved her hand around nervously before dropping it. "I'm just. . . well, you've had a lot of news coverage and I'm just surprised you can be normal enough to. . ." She trailed off.

"To argue with my boyfriend? Yeah, we do that sometimes."

The nurse glanced away and a second came up beside her, saying, "But in the courthouse he said he loved you."

"And vice versa, but we still get on each other's nerves; why are you interested in us anyway?" she asked harshly.

A third nurse came forward from around the corner. "What was going on here? Patients reported extremely loud voices arguing like the world was ending."

Kagome laughed in a slightly hysterical way. "Yeah, sorry about that." She looked behind her just as Inuyasha glanced behind him. The moment their eyes met, both of them humphed and looked away sharply.

On the bed, Hojo coughed to gain attention. When Kagome looked over at him, he said, "I've never seen you yell like that before."

She shrugged a shoulder. "Inuyasha is the only person who brings it out in me."

"Vice versa," Inuyasha muttered, though loud enough that likely everyone heard.

Kagome ignored him as Hojo went on. "You were a little scary," he said quietly, as though worried he would invoke her wrath if he wasn't careful.

"Tell _him_ that!" she snapped, gesturing Inuyasha.

"Don't you dare get me started again!" Inuyasha said quickly, spinning to face her. "I've still got a lot to say to you!"

The third nurse, a large woman with a hairnet, snapped at them both, "Well say what you've got to say somewhere else!"

The nurses around her tittered and giggled to themselves before dispersing. Kagome and Inuyasha turned away from each other again.

"So. . ." Kagome began, trying to strike up conversation with Hojo again. "How long are you staying here?"

"Another night," Hojo replied, eying Inuyasha carefully as he spoke. "They want to make sure I haven't gotten any serious head injuries before letting me go."

"What about the principal?"

"He showed up yesterday after school, asked me some questions," Hojo was saying conversationally. "He's begun a kind of investigation into finding that girl, since I didn't know her name and apparently she never went to school with us."

"Apparently?"

"They had me look over the school photos and try to spot her, but she wasn't in there."

"Either that or she beat herself out of your head," Inuyasha barked.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome hissed. "Sorry, Hojo, but Inuyasha and I have much more arguing to do. We'll have to leave."

Hojo shrugged. "No problem. As soon as school's over I'll get bombarded by girls and their presents again; I think I'll be fine."

There was a teasing note in his voice that made Kagome smile. "Be sure to fall for one of them."

He laughed. "Been trying to."

Kagome waved her goodbyes while practically dragging Inuyasha out by his forelocks. Outside, she began a fast pace, trying to make it so Inuyasha not only knew of her anger, but would have some trouble keeping up with her.

Forgetting that he was half demon and far stronger and faster than she was, if only physically.

He wasn't saying a word, just like she was, but he was shoulder-to-shoulder with her, clearing the crowded streets with glares and a few swipes. People glanced at her a lot these days, surprised to see her up and about and walking down the street like a normal girl.

It felt odd to be looked at like a normal girl for her. She was so used to being extraordinary, being powerful, being practically worshiped at times. Being looked at like other girls stirred strange feelings in her. On the one hand, this is something she always yearned for, to forget her dangerous, hectic life and be normal, if only for a day. On the other, she didn't like being looked at as something other than what she was: a priestess with near unmatched purity.

She paused outside a store, glancing in the reflective window and seeing herself. Odd, her reflection didn't look like it used to. There was more wisdom and maturity in her eyes than she was used to seeing. Was it possible that her rape and trial caused this? The knowledge of how cruel the world could be made her spirit age quickly?

She knew she didn't take things for granted anymore. That was good.

She sighed, looking away from her reflection. She didn't feel the same as she used to, either. If she had to place it, she could only say that she was more focused now, less of a daydreamer. But then, that could be from Inuyasha. They both seemed to have changed since the first moment they kissed.

Inuyasha was definitely kinder to her, and even playful. Kagome, on the other hand, felt calmer than usual, and she knew she was being much sweeter to Inuyasha. In fact, the two of them often teased each other, sometimes with words, sometimes with little touches, sometimes with withholding kisses or cuddles.

Kagome looked at Inuyasha now, as he stared impatiently at her, no more than a foot from where she stood. He looked like he was mentally giving her what-for, and getting slowly calmer for it. She took a step forward for a reason she didn't understand, and hugged him around the middle, pressing her face into his shoulder.

She felt him jerk with surprise, but after a few moments, she felt his arms go around her. She waited there, perfectly still for one long moment, before looking up, mostly with her eyes. Inuyasha had his head down and a slight blush, his bangs completely obscuring his eyes from view.

Kagome smiled at the sight and let go, glancing around and noticing a slight crowd around her. Her instinct to run rose up quickly at the close quarters, and she tugged at Inuyasha's sleeve to get moving again. Inuyasha's arm went around her waist and held her securely by his side, looking up once more to glare, but this time, only one of his eyes were visible.

It didn't take too long to get back to the Shrine, and Kagome went straight to her room with so much as a "Tadaima." Inuyasha stayed downstairs only long enough to give the crash-course summary of the day.

When he came back in, she was once more at her computer, which she didn't often fiddle with lately. From what he understood, she received things called "e-mails" from time to time over something even weirder called the "internet," both of which required a computer to access.

He wasn't much interested in it, so he generally kept his mouth shut. Today, however, she wasn't on the "internet" that he could see; no, she seemed to be working on that Paint program she used every now and again. Didn't seem to be getting very far, though.

It was over the last week or so that he realized how creative she could be when given the incentive. Naturally, he saw her imagination run wild with ideas in that story of hers, but lately he's seen more. She has books on a shelf – rather, she calls them "manga," and looking through one showed pictures that intended movement from one picture to the other.

She tried several times to draw some of the images simply from looking at them, and though it surprised him, she didn't seem entirely too excited that her pictures looked perfectly like the ones in the mangas. If he didn't know better, he might have guessed that she drew each and every one of those books.

It got him thinking that she might very well have a future in writing and drawing those things if she so desired. After all, he certainly wasn't expecting to find that story – not only was he entranced by the very ideas in it, but the way she wrote it, how obviously she got better as she went along, and he himself could hardly believe the twists she pulled. I mean, who in their right mind would not only make Sesshomaru an ally, but one of honor that goes both ways?

He sat on her bed and watched her for a while. As always, that incensive clicking was annoying, but the sound drowned out as he watched her. He could hardly believe the beauty he saw when he looked at her, how bright her eyes were. He was frightened, deathly so, that those eyes would have become dark and dead as Kikyo's had, that he would once more lose a woman he loved.

There had only been three. Over a century and a half old, and there were only three women he loved. One because she had always been there for him, in spirit after body: Izayoi, his mother. One because she had routinely spared his life, intrigued him, talked to him and trusted him: Kikyo, whom he nearly became human for. One because she had simply refused to be shunned, because she had never lifted her nose to him nor trembled in fear: Kagome, who he now pledged his life to.

If there were ever a better reason to be a slave, he had not yet heard of it.

Kagome knew he was watching her. She could feel his eyes on her back, watching her carefully, either from simple fascination, intense love or questioning worry. Perhaps a bit of all three. She wanted to turn and smile at him, maybe even go over to him and kiss him.

But she knew better. Inuyasha had told her before, more than once, to be careful around him. Now that they were officially together – waiting for her to recover or not – his body tended to act without conscious decisions. If she stayed too close to him, leaned on him too much, kissed him too passionately, there was a great chance he would do everything he could to seduce her.

Though this hasn't been tested, in such a case it was far better to be safe than sorry. She wondered at times if he would really drop his control enough to attempt seducing her, or if he were simply worried that he would and couldn't allow himself to find out. At the very least, not now, when although her body had finished healing, her mind was still recovering.

At the beginning, her heart used to ache, thinking that her body wouldn't untouched for him. Inuyasha told her quite a few times since then that it didn't matter to him, but she knew it did. It was how men in his era thought. Women who were no longer virgins, by choice or by force, were frowned upon and often looked at as trash.

In an odd coincidence, she now understood Inuyasha better. His entire life, he was looked at as trash by most of the population of Japan. Though people in his era sympathized knowing that Kagome had been hurt in such a demeaning manner, she could still see that their beliefs triumphed in their eyes. Before, Kagome had often been looked at as a kind of Goddess at times, and knew without looking that many men admired her and sought after her, if only in their own minds.

Those same men rarely glanced at her anymore, always looking away or down when she drew near, always with sad or pitiful or resentful looks. It was mainly the women who sympathized most, often offering her help with whatever it was she was doing, though most of the time she did nothing but sit and try to get used to the world around her again.

It was an enigma how only a few hours could change your view of the world so drastically that you needed time to readjust. Most people, like Kagome, spend their entire lives used to the things around her. She even grew used to life in Sengoku Jidai quickly and easily, becoming a second home to her. In fact, if she was ever asked to choose a time, she would be hard pressed to decide on one or the other.

Kagome snapped herself to and blinked at the computer screen. Unknowingly, she had continued the image she was making without seeing it, and wondered if the curves and lines were correct. It was something she did now, every time she opened the program: She zoomed in immediately so she wouldn't see what it was she was making, which means when she finally finishes, it will as much a surprise to her as everyone else.

Although she couldn't help but notice the amount of red and silver she was using. Based on that, she had a pretty solid idea of who or what the picture was about, but until she saw the image for herself at actual size, she couldn't be sure. After all, she could be drawing the deaths of those men, little by little, from many blades or arrows.

It would be poetic justice to let her kill them, but then, it would be poetic justice for many people to kill them.

As a new thought entered her mind, she lifted her head and looked over at Inuyasha. Though he seemed to be nodding off, he obviously picked up on the lack of clicking noises and the squeak of the chair when she shifted. He looked up.

"Yeah, Kagome?"

She didn't even have to ask. It made her smile. "Has Mama or Grandpa said anything new about The Phantom?"

"Not that I heard," he replied, shifting and yawning widely. At that moment, she couldn't help but examine his fangs, left wide open. "Why are you interested?"

She shrugged. "Something tells me to keep an eye on it."

"Well, check that newspaper thing sometime. They mention everything, don't they?"

"Just about."

"There ya go." He shifted again, laying out on her bed and shutting his eyes.

"Cute, cute, cute," she chanted.

He snorted, but otherwise didn't reply.

_**The Phantom **_

Last night, it was Yashutino Ryoki who had died by Him. Tonight, it would be Itsukonomu Serio. "He made her cry forth." Ryoki's message. "He frightened her fifth." Serio's.

His resolve was wavering. Death didn't suit him, even vengeful death. He'd spent too long being calm with his wife, too long cuddling her womb and spending nights with her in their bed. Though he was once, and always will be, a great warrior and a cunning adversary, he simply didn't fight anymore.

Perhaps when She died, she took that part of him with her. He hated wallowing in misery after the death of someone dear; he'd done so before and had difficulty hardening himself to it. Unfortunately this blow was too great to be ignored, a wound too deep to ever heal.

Quite often over the past centuries Sesshomaru had found him, lying still in a garden or on a floor, simply staring up, blankly. Oftentimes he would be shedding tears as he did this, trying not to remember Her or their daughter, but the two of them were always the only thing on his mind. It was the decision to kill those brutes that kept him going all this time.

If it hadn't been for them and the fear of killing himself and losing his place in Heaven, he would have taken his own life long ago. Maybe after this he could get Sesshomaru to kill him, one final battle between the two after so long of tense partnership.

He laid on the floor of his 'room' now, a small puddle of tears near his temples, where they had run off the sides of his face. He couldn't move at the moment, finding himself greatly regretting going through with this. It was one thing to plan, to go on from visions of the deaths of the ones who killed the only person who not only loved him, but was willing to live forever with him, to share his life – however long it will be – and give him children.

But it was another thing to kill the brutes, to watch them and listen to them as they screamed endlessly in agony, bodies being torn to bits and lifeblood flowing in thick waves onto everything within easy reach. The first death, Hisochane's, was by far the easiest. Ishi was the one He wanted to kill most of all. Slow death, painful death, a reminder of what's to come in Hell for such beasts.

The second was just as greatly satisfying. Kei had tried to retaliate, flinging a small stolen knife into the air repeatedly once he knew He was there to get him. The knife had, in fact, connected with His arm, but though it ripped through the jacket He wore, His arm remained unscathed.

It was something He noticed about two centuries ago. When he was young, he bruised easy, though they never lasted long. At around two centuries old, his skin was much tougher, never bruising but still able to be cut and pierced. At four hundred, it became incredibly difficult to harm him in the least, taking a great deal of effort to make him bleed. At six centuries, it became near impossible to break his skin, though his internal organs were much more susceptible. And now, at over seven hundred years, it required acid-tipped needles to break his skin. He has not had a bruise in more than four hundred years.

Sesshomaru, it seemed, was much the same. Although He didn't really know how old Sesshomaru was, it was becoming more and more obvious that the man was invincible. Why he chose to run a business with his family rather than recruit them all and take over the world could only be because honor was Sesshomaru's highest priority, second only to his Brood.

He looked over at the time and sighed as the minutes ticked closer to midnight. All in all, he didn't want to get up and do this again; his point was made, wasn't it? On the other hand, he had only existed until now to do this, to get it over with so he could die without regret.

But he was regretting killing them.

_**:End Chapter:**_

Yikes. Hope this one didn't take too long to come out. Been wondering for a long time how to go about this chapter, in pretty much all aspects. Luckily the fingers write the story, not a big plan.

**Great News:** I have my scanner YAY! Come look at my new and improved gallery if you dare. ;) I don't have much more Trans. artwork, and I'm working on some Changing Lives (CL as I call it) artwork as well, but I have a years' worth of others. Well, not the full year, not yet anyway. Still working on the scanning part.

Know what's the kicker? I've been scanning for four days. XD

Ah, what to say about this chapter. . . Well, for one, I dunno why I gave that therapist an English kind of name. I mean, Sarah, in Japan? I hope she mastered the language. Or maybe her parents were Japanese, and just liked the name, I dunno.

I also can't express how angry I am. It gets frustrating to the point of shredding things alive (like Phantom's been doing) when I can actually count how many people have read each chapter (now on both sites) and yet only get a few reviews for each. Well, a few in comparison.

I don't understand it, but I really really want to know what you guys think. If you have ANYTHING to say, for the love of INUYASHA just say it! That's an order from your Authoress. **_:Glances away:_**

Moving on. . .

Getting more and more into anime and games lately. I've now seen all of Escaflowne and the movie to it, all four Inuyasha movies and all the episodes (kinda sucks where it leaves off, really), all Vampire Princess Miyu episodes (which is awesome, go watch it I command you!), all of Trigun, all of Cowboy Bebop and the first movie, some of Ranma (though I read the entire Manga so watching the anime is kinda pointless), read most of Chobits (one book away!), and nearly all of DBZ. Sounds odd, I know, but DBZ has been on TV and I can't follow a schedule for the life of me. x.x

Also. . . as it turns out, my fic "12 Days Of Christmas DBZ Style" was deleted. I had to wait a whole day, readers, to upload this new chapter. Sad, I know.

Well, I think I've wasted enough time. I'll just bring the points of the chapter to light once more:

Kagome's trip to the therapist.

Inuyasha's obsession with poking casts.

Hojo's newly found sense of humor O.o

Kagome's interest in the Brutes' deaths.

Inuyasha and Kagome's thoughts on their relationship.

Phantom's regret.

_**:Blows a whistle, waves a flag, pulls a curtain, shoots a gun, snaps a whip, cuts a ribbon:**_

So get to it, peoples! Review time!

See ya! **_:Rose:_**


	17. Lust, Regret, Fear

Inuyasha's eyes softened considerably. For a moment Kagome was certain he was going to kiss her, in front of the therapist; perhaps give her something to write about. But he just hugged her a little more completely and dropped his head to nuzzle her shoulder lightly.

For a moment, neither of them noticed that Sarah was even in the room.

_** Hospital **_

"Cute, cute, cute," she chanted.

He snorted, but otherwise didn't reply.

_** The Phantom **_

He looked over at the time and sighed as the minutes ticked closer to midnight. All in all, he didn't want to get up and do this again; his point was made, wasn't it? On the other hand, he had only existed until now to do this, to get it over with so he could die without regret.

But he was regretting killing them.

_**AE Forty Nine**_

Kagome wasn't scheduled for another therapy session for a week. That was good. The bad news was, her therapist called in and wrapped the court around her little finger to get Kagome for daily sessions, again two hours each.

Since Kagome couldn't trash her room out of frustration, she went with Inuyasha back to Sengoku Jidai with her bow and blew up several demons. In fact, they'd had to track the demons down, just so she could kill them. After about a dozen, Inuyasha stopped her, using the excuse that he couldn't smell any more live ones.

He kept his mouth shut about the real reason, and though Kagome obviously knew he wasn't saying everything, she took the excuse and stopped. Unfortunately, then she wanted to target practice.

She wasn't going to use Inuyasha or anybody else as a bull's eye, so instead Shippo created a stone shaped like a person for her to aim at. After perhaps half an hour with little help in depleting her anger, she was growing a crowd. She only kept shooting because they kept 'oooh'ing and 'ahhhh'ing.

Then she aimed into the sky and released her final arrow, not knowing exactly what she was doing, but following her instincts. She concentrated on the head of the arrow and at its peak, she exploded it with power. It shimmered and shone, looking something like fireworks.

While everyone was watching the arrow in the sky, Kagome had gestured for Inuyasha and he took her away from the crowd. She felt better after all of that, but now she was hungry for something else. If she tried to name it, she wouldn't be able to, but she knew it had something to do with. . . with. . .

Hell, all she knew was that she was hungry, and it wasn't for causing pain or eating. And it couldn't be from attention after all of that time trailing a crowd. She only had one thought of what it could be left, and she bit her lip on Inuyasha's back, deciding to simply ignore it.

Unfortunately his motions were keeping her from ignoring it well. She exhaled a shaky breath, and her fingers gripped his shoulders tighter.

No. . . fucking. . . way.

This was so completely against the stereotypical views of how a rape victim acted. It'd only been. . . Hell, couldn't have been more than a week, week and a half! Yet part of her was definitely throbbing, and _most_**_ definitely _**for Inuyasha.

_Wrong wrong wrong! _her mind kept chanting. She was supposed to be fearful of all touches, which she was – unless it was Inuyasha touching her. And at first, she couldn't really stand his touches, either. But later, when she'd had time to come back to herself, assess what had happened, and focus on him. . .

His touches didn't bother her so much. He was strong and comforting and he smelled so good. . .

She shook her head sharply at that. What was she thinking! He _smelled_ good? Since when was **she** the one who could smell people?

As it turns out, she snapped back to herself just in time. Inuyasha stopped running finally, near the well, but on the opposite side of it than the village. Far enough away that one could see the well, but not be seen through the foliage. She knew immediately that he was giving her time to relax and calm down, and she thanked him for it as she slid off him.

Sliding off him was a bad idea. It was slightly stimulating, just enough to get her mind back on the subject of his body. She'd seen his chest plenty of times, but thinking about it now. . . He was a hunk.

Which made sense, if you thought about it. I mean, he's a half demon, not used to eating big meals, or even steadily, who's almost always in a fight or in a rush. Where would there be room for one to relax and slouch enough to grow unhealthy and large?

". . . Kagome?"

She blinked. Her eyes refocused and she realized she'd been staring at him and his body for a while now. "Sorry," she half-laughed.

He tilted his head a little. "What was so interesting?"

The look in his eyes suggested he knew already. So Kagome just shook her head, smiling and leaned into him. He lifted his arms to hold her there after a moment. There was most definitely a pulse going through her now, something that felt like a heartbeat but was much stronger. She knew what it was, though she'd rather not have to say it.

And then Inuyasha said, "I can smell it."

She shivered in his arms, and lifted her chin to see him. She must have looked inviting, because he leaned down to kiss her, and though it was the same as every other, it felt so much different. She couldn't help but move until her arms were around his neck, pulling him to her more firmly.

It felt so nice. . .

And then came a surprise. She felt his mouth open, and then his tongue at her lips. Without thinking, or even realizing exactly what he was doing, she opened her mouth and lifted her tongue to meet his. About here is when everything spiraled of out control.

Suddenly he was holding her much tighter, kissing much more aggressively. And Kagome not only didn't resist, but she tried to match him, and a thudding, pulsing feeling began through her body. She wasn't sure if she was excited, or embarrassed, or even a little angry, but whatever it was, it was making her want him more.

Her mind traveled back to the sex part of her story, remembered how clearly the scene was in her mind, and against her will, her mind began playing the scene over and over. It only served to make her believe it really will be like that, their first time, all hot sweat, desire, and love.

She made a sound like a mix between a gasp and surprised squeal when she felt her back against a tree, and then she lifted up a bit, and her legs were around his waist. Inuyasha's mouth moved to her neck and began kissing there, and she couldn't help but tilt her head back at the rush of sweet pleasure.

She moaned a little, at this feeling, and gasped when she felt what was clearly his tongue licking at her skin. So she'd been right, she realized, when she described his senses, that he liked to taste. Even in her pleasured haze, she managed a smile. She really did know him well, didn't she?

It must've been a second later that she felt his hand travel up her skirt and grip her hip. That's when everything went to hell.

Immediately Kagome was remembering her rape, remembered a paw of a hand grabbing that very spot, and for a moment, she couldn't tell what was real – Inuyasha, or. . .

She screamed.

Inuyasha jerked and took his hands away from her a moment, then moved one arm behind her back, the other lifting to cup her cheek, and she fighting him. All of a sudden the only thing she could think of was getting away, she could hardly feel him anymore.

"Kagome!" he snapped. "Open your eyes!"

She turned her head away from the voice. "Let me go, stop it!" she yelled, without thinking.

He wasn't letting go. If anything he held her tighter, pressed his face to hers, started petting her cheek and hair. "Kagome, shh, look at me," he pleaded.

She was whimpering, in an effort not to cry. Scenes were still flashing through her mind, scenes she wished she could forget. She was pushing at him, trying to get down. Stuck between Inuyasha and a tree, she felt horribly trapped, and it was heightening her panic.

Still, even as she fought Inuyasha, pushed at him and told him to let go of her, he kept whispering to her, trying to calm her down, making no motions and using no tones that would make her afraid. As she came back to herself, after who knows how long, she relaxed and leaned against him, dropping her head to his shoulder. She knew the moment she began crying, because his arm around her waist tightened and the muscle turned to stone.

She was shaking, and badly, and as she focused, she realized he was shaking, too. Both his arms were around her now, mostly just holding her there. She gave a shaky laugh once she was calmed, and lifted her head. "I guess. . . I do need that therapist after all," she joked weakly.

Inuyasha didn't reply, or quirk a brow, or frown or smile. He sat down, pulled her to his chest, and wrapped his arms around her, so his sleeves were mostly hiding her there. She couldn't see his eyes, obscured by his bangs, but knew he was shaken, and pretty badly at that.

The first time in a long time they manage to kiss and actually get somewhere, while she seemed to be okay, and she snaps. She couldn't help but feel bad about it. She was so sure she wanted him, that was willing to go all the way with him, and her mind plays tricks on her. She cursed her luck.

Then she went home. It felt nice to relax on her bed once more, Inuyasha beside her, warm and comforted. She even managed a smile. Though thoughts of tomorrow and that trip to the therapist were now both confusing and angered her, she found herself looking forward to it. She even made the decision that Inuyasha wouldn't come this time, at least not into the room with her.

She imagined how he would flip upon hearing that.

_** Phantom **_

He sighed heavily as he made it back to his room, jumping through the window. He took off his coat and tossed it aside, leaving a trail of blood and flesh where it dragged. He wiped his cheek, and saw a long streak of blood accent his sleeve. _Figures._

He laid down on the floor, stared up at the ceiling. That one was messy. A little too messy.

For one, the man had squirmed a lot, tried to fight through the whole thing. It made it harder to kill him, but in the end, there was no choice. The man was deformed too much to live by the end, he would have been in constant pain until his dying days. It was a pity kill.

And he should be hating them.

In all honesty he still did, but. . . he was hurting them so much, and he was certain the last on his list, Desyno Ferino, was terrified. He already knew the man was locked in protective custody, in some steel room somewhere.

What would be crueler, at this point? Killing the man, letting his fears come true, and ending it all in one more night? Or not killing him, not attacking him at all, and letting him fear every waking and sleeping moment for the rest of his life, wondering if Death was right behind him?

It was be a mercy to kill him. It really would.

That made it a little better. It was just one more. . .

He had to keep telling himself that. _Just one more. . ._

_** Detective Motsumoto **_

Despite efforts from everyone in the squad, and news reports from all of Japan, the Phantom remained at large. It was driving him crazy, and this latest death, Itsukonomu, the fifth man to be killed, was found in more pieces than any of the others.

But a shrink brought in to analyze the situation didn't think the Phantom was getting crueler. After watching the tapes, the woman said that the Phantom was regretting his actions, and getting sloppy because of it. This was mainly obvious after the Phantom had ripped open the man's arm, and then tried to close the wound, to keep it from bleeding out badly.

One could say his bloodlust overtook him and he didn't want the man to bleed to death too soon, but the psychiatrist shook her head and told them all that his resolve was wavering. He didn't want to do this anymore.

But something made him finish with Itsukonomu, and Motsumoto knew that he was going to finish off Desyno too. No matter what the police did, where they took him, how they protected him, the Phantom was going to get to him by tomorrow night.

And then it would truly be over, and that Phantom would disappear, leaving all six brutal homicides unclosed. Motsumoto really, _really_ wanted to catch that guy, and make him pay before it ended. He wanted the man to go to trial and get the death sentence for all he'd done.

As part of the squad's nightly routine from these murders, they told a shrink, that same woman, exactly what they thought on the matter.

She told Motsumoto, "He would only go to trial and accept his sentence when his deed is done. You would not be able to hold him, no matter how you tried. In the end, he would allow himself to die, lethal injection or not. It's hard to hear, Motsumoto-sempai, but you literally have no power on this man. The only reason why he would obey your rules is because he feels he should."

That burned like salt on an open wound. He has no power over the Phantom? That couldn't be true. Motsumoto was the best detective in a thousand miles! There was no one that didn't fear him and his squad, taking them down, pinning them for all!

Yet this Phantom continually made it around him. It was driving him crazy, not being able to catch the man, no matter what.

After the third kill, Tsunemi, they began moving the rest into protective custody, despite how some of the squad couldn't feel bad for the imprisoned brutes. There was even one or two who voted against it, but followed orders anyway.

Yashutino Ryoki, the younger Yashutino brother, had been in solitary. Steel door, cement walls, five guards patrolling at all times. Any normal murderer would have been caught in the act, no matter how stealthy, how sneaky, how tricky he was. Yet this Phantom detained all the guards without a sound, simply took the key to the cell, let himself in, and locked the door behind him.

And Yashutino was left at his mercy, of which there appeared to be none.

They got smarter with Itsukonomu, though. Stronger cell, hidden keys, a dozen guards, all of them slept during the day and stayed awake and alert all night. Each guard was also fitted with a sensor which when pressed would set off an alarm, an alarm which also notified the police. This would also happen if the guard's heartbeat slowed to a sleep or death pace.

This time the Phantom managed to separate the guards, take off the sensors, place them on himself, find the hidden key somehow, and again, it was a repeat of all the others.

Cameras were useless. Guards were pointless. Sensors and alarms were obsolete. Keys were playthings.

The only thing left to do would be to take Desyno out of the country, some other place less reachable. And that's when it hit him.

Motsumoto knew of a place you could not get to without a helicopter. Sometimes he went there when work was tough, and he's been meaning to visit it since these deaths began, to take a load off and let the nightmares wreak their havoc.

He could take Desyno there. With some quick assembly, he could make another solitary cell, without a key this time, and hide all the tools which assembled it. There would be no way to get to Desyno!

And Motsumoto himself could be there. He could try talking to the man, and if he was unreasonable, he could always have a gun ready.

That was it. Motsumoto had it all figured out. One way or another, he was going to have a showdown with this Phantom before he got to Desyno. Motsumoto was positive that if he could at least talk to that Phantom character, he could find some way of reasoning with the guy.

That letter, his actions, the unbending schedule – it all pointed to the Phantom being a generally good guy who had horrible things happen to him. If he was growing weary of killing, then Motsumoto felt he could detain the man fairly easily, given a few talks.

Then again, it was possible that the man was a psychotic killer, and the sloppiness was not from regret, but from a heightened bloodlust. Hence the reason why Motsumoto made sure to keep his gun nearby.

He stepped out of his office and gathered his team, telling them the plan quickly. He had to get everything moving fast, at it was already ten in the morning, and it would take all day and some of the night to get everything done, even with a dozen extra bodies.

He even smiled as they all began their duties, his mind showing him one scene after another where he caught that damned Phantom and took him in. There was no that the man could get away anymore.

And this had to work. If that letter were true, then after Desyno, the Phantom was going to disappear, and all the murders were going to be left unsolved. That, of everything, was the one thing Motsumoto was **_not_** going to let happen. Oh no, the Phantom was going to be caught, identified, judged and sentenced like all the other psycho killers in his district.

No one ever got away from Motsumoto.

_** That Night **_

Everything was set up, calm, and dark. Motsumoto remained in the darkness on the stairs, while Desyno was in his set-up cell in a holding room on the other side of the house.

The house was, in fact, a cabin. It was sitting atop a mountain, with broken ground everywhere around, and even a cliff. There was a very steep path up to the cabin, to the back door. The front door faced the cliff. As far as he knew, this cabin was built as a place to keep prisoners of war back in the past centuries.

There was thick forest in every direction, and currently the moon was nearly hidden, from clouds, mountains, and because it was nearly time for the new moon night. Another three days, from the looks of it.

The path led into the forest, and had a straight drop if you didn't veer off it after a few hundred feet. The drop itself was just ten feet, but because of the steepness of the mountain, if you don't stop yourself quickly after the drop, you'll simply keep falling. Many deaths have happened because someone slipped, went over the drop, and couldn't catch themselves in time.

Very few animals came around here because even they could tell it was dangerous. Other than birds in the trees, bugs on the ground, moles under the ground, and a few squirrels, the area was mostly deserted. There was no way to climb the broken ground without setting off a landslide, whether small or large, and it would alert Motsumoto if it happened.

He kept his eyes open, his ears clear, and his gun at ready. He could be up all night, waiting, for no reason, but he wasn't willing to sleep, take that chance, and wake up to find Desyno in pieces.

He really didn't see how the Phantom could have known that Desyno was here, in any case. He kept the information confidential, only his team knew about this plan, but there was always the off chance that someone was a double-crosser, a paid informant, who would give that Phantom what he wants to know.

There was also the chance that the police room was bugged somewhere, so all spoken plans are recorded. But then, in case of either of these two ringing true, they had the place searched for squealers and electronics. They did this after the forth death, to make sure that what they said wasn't being repeated somewhere, somehow.

Motsumoto was no novice to police work. In fact, his eldest son had resorted to a life of crime for a decade, and after being rehabilitated, he told Motsumoto everything. All the tricks he'd used, the information, turning what he knew about Motsumoto's work to his advantage, everything. In the end, his son had proved the greatest asset to his current skill as a officer, because of the previous crime wave.

Which is why Motsumoto was sitting on the stairs, perfectly still and silent. Here was the perfect place for sounds to echo, and it was impossible to hear an echo from the stairs and not be able to pinpoint it. Not only that, but he obscured from windows on both levels, making him invisible as long as he stayed silent.

Some birds outside chirped and took flight, and the sound of trees being moved came to his ears. He remained still, however, and focused on the sound.

No way was that wind. From up here, the wind hits everything or nothing, not just a few trees from one direction. And no doubt, it was getting closer.

The gun in his hand felt heavy all at once, and he gripped it tighter. He was perfectly willing to kill, should the Phantom refuse to be taken in.

And then all sounds stopped, even the clock ticking in the next room. Motsumoto's heart beat a little quicker, hairs raising at the back of his neck.

Something was happening.

_**:End Chapter:**_

Merry Christmas.

Happy Hanukkah.

Happy Kwanza.

Or whatever you're celebrating.

In any case, here, have a chapter. Finished in something of a rush so it could be a Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanza/etc present.

Good night and good riddance, bleh. And yes, this whole alternate ending thing, it's almost finished. Most certainly, the climax is coming up soon, and after that, a steady drummed-down slope till the ending. Maybe then I'll get on with the sequel.

**_:Sigh:_**

So, on a better note, how was everyone's Christmas? From what I understand, Hanukkah is starting tomorrow, so, yeah, can't really ask how Hanukkah went, now can I? XD

Moving ahead, part of the present was that almost-lime way back up there. Yes, Kagome has the hots for Inuyasha and yes, it's only getting stronger, despite the rape and all that. What, you think women can't recover that fast? I know what it's like, I've been raped and molested myself.

And really, it's nothing to be ashamed about. Especially if there was, like, no way to fight back or avoid it, that kinda thing. Once you can forget, you really, literally forget. I haven't thought about my rape and been depressed about it in. . . hell, I don't think I was ever 'depressed' about it. Don't even remember any nightmares, neither. O.o

Oh well, I was a kid at the time, there's like no way for me to remember it, anyways. Seriously though, I have a healthy, in fact a bit strong amount of lust.

Why do you think I write lemons? For you peoples? HA! I write 'em for myself. Just ask a couple buddies of mine. They _know._

Wow I can really chat, huh? Suppose I should end it now.

Side note: Sorry it took so long. I had like no ideas for what I should do in this chapter, besides kill somebody and get on with the Phantom thing. What surprises me is that some of you just know who the Phantom is, yet some of you have no clue. Makes me laugh, really it does.

Although I will remind you. . . DON'T REVIEW WITH "I know who the Phantom is, it's," THAT KIND OF THING. THAT GIVES REVIEW-READERS IDEAS ABOUT WHO DONE IT, INSTEAD OF LETTING THEM TRY AND DECIDE FOR THEMSELVES. If you think you know, say you think you know, PLEASE.

Can't stress enough about that. -.-

_**See ya!**_


	18. The Last Kill

Though thoughts of tomorrow and that trip to the therapist were now both confusing and angered her, she found herself looking forward to it. She even made the decision that Inuyasha wouldn't come this time, at least not into the room with her.

She imagined how he would flip upon hearing that.

_**Phantom **_

He had to keep telling himself that. _Just one more. . ._

_**Detective Motsumoto **_

Oh no, the Phantom was going to be caught, identified, judged and sentenced like all the other psycho killers in his district.

No one ever got away from Motsumoto.

_**That Night **_

And then all sounds stopped, even the clock ticking in the next room. Motsumoto's heart beat a little quicker, hairs raising at the back of his neck.

Something was happening.

_**AE Fifty**_

It took many deep breaths to calm his heart. Mostumoto remained seated until he heard a slight squeak in the direction opposite Desyno's cell. Motsumoto began descending the stairs, slowly, and looked around the wall he was up against. Seeing nothing, he looked in another direction.

And then, quite clearly, he felt a gust and heard a 'whoosh' go right past him. Everything in his body seemed to freeze, to paralyze in fear, but he managed to turn around.

A hand flicked the stairway light on. The man standing there looked in pain, halfway up the stairs, and regretful. He had white hair, very short, but for two silvery strands that hung along the sides of his face, to below his collar bones. His bangs nearly covered his eyes, a strikingly gold shade, and infinitely sad.

"You. . ." was all Motsumoto could get out.

He was wearing a thick, heavy-looking black trench coat that covered most of his body, along with heavy army boots, a high-necked shirt of some sort, and black gloves. But each finger was tipped with white claw-looking things, which Motsumoto guessed were metal.

"Me," he replied. He walked down two steps, level with Motsumoto, and sat down, bracing his elbows on his knees.

Oddly, now that Motsumoto could see him, and there was light, he wasn't afraid anymore. He could tell by a look that this man was dangerous, but he felt no aggression or violence from him. After wondering for a moment what to do, he sat down as well.

"Why are you doing this?"

The man dropped his chin onto his forearms as he crossed them over his knees. "I thought I left a letter explaining that."

Motsumoto shook his head. "I want to hear it from you."

He looked at Motsumoto from the corner of his eye. "You realize I could just knock you out, finish here, and leave forever."

Motsumoto shrugged. "You would have done it already, I think, if that's what you wanted."

Phantom looked directly forward. Whoever he was, he was obviously sluggish to get going tonight.

"Was the psychiatrist right?" Motsumoto asked him. "Are you regretting this?"

His eyes narrowed a little and his eyes drifted downward. But he didn't answer.

"What did these guys do to you?"

He shut his eyes this time, and his brows drew together, as though he was fighting off a surge of pain.

Motsumoto stood up. "Why don't you just stop?"

". . . I can't."

The reply was so quiet, Motsumoto could barely hear him. "Well, why not? It's obvious you don't want to do this."

"I can't," he repeated, firmer.

"Why the hell not?" Motsumoto snapped.

The Phantom stood up so fast Motsumoto hardly saw it, then he was at the bottom of the stairs and facing Motsumoto. "They raped and killed the only woman who was ever willing to give up everything to be with me, even her feelings, her memory, her soul!" He looked then, almost through the walls and various objects, directly to where Desyno's cell was.

"That's why they have to die," he finished, with a cruel tone that made the hair of the back of Motsumoto's neck stand on end again.

But he heard a loophole in that one statement. "They," he repeated, and the Phantom looked up at him in question.

Motsumoto stepped down the stairs and looked the man in the eyes. "You said 'they,' not 'he.' You never thought of the men individually, did you?"

The Phantom's eyes grew infinitely sad once more. He said, quite simply, "They're not individuals."

Motsumoto's grip on his gun tightened. He took one step back, one foot on the stairs, and lifted it, pointing it directly at the Phantom's forehead. "Don't make me shoot you."

But Phantom's eyes grew only sadder, and he smiled. "Shoot me. It won't kill me."

Motsumoto's finger on the trigger twitched a little. Some thought was creeping in the back of his mind, something trying to get to the surface, even as he struggled to understand the man in front of him. Those sad eyes, the anger he heard a moment ago, the way he spoke – this Phantom was nothing like anybody Motsumoto had ever met.

And then, though he didn't consciously realize the thought behind it, Motsumoto said, "A demon."

And the Phantom nodded. "Half, actually."

"That's why shooting you won't kill you." Even as he said this, Motsumoto didn't lower the gun.

Phantom's smile was a little twisted. "That, and more pointedly, I already died."

Motsumoto dropped his gun on the ground then, with thoughts running through his head of how demons were immortal. How had he died, yet remained alive? "How. . ?"

Phantom shook his head. "I died when they did."

"They?" Motsumoto echoed.

"I'm sorry about this."

It was instinct, then, that made Motsumoto move. He moved as quick as he could, reaching for his gun, and as his fingers enclosed around the grip, he felt a sharp, thudding pain in his chest. The world around him moved too quick for his eyes, and then another pain exploded in his back. When his eyes unblurred, he was staring down the stairs, and the Phantom was gone.

Not only that, but the light was out. He heard, quite clearly, Desyno scream, "No!" and then no sound.

His instincts were telling him to run. It was battling against his police training, telling him to get up and fight for Desyno's life, twisted as it was. He got up and dashed down the stairs, almost tripping. He rounded the corner and across the house, to Desyno's cell. He looked in the window, grabbed the handle, and yanked.

The door swung open, and in that instant, Desyno's screams were easily heard. The cell was ten by ten feet, and Desyno was in the corner, Phantom in front of him. Though Motsumoto couldn't see what Phantom was doing, he could already see blood on the walls, and a chunk of human flesh on the seat.

His stomach churned, he lifted the gun, and fired four times into Phantom's back.

Phantom didn't even flinch, Desyno's screamed again, and then there was a dull thud, the sounds stopped, and Motsumoto looked down. Desyno's head was on the floor, but his body was still in the corner, upright.

Motsumoto's stomach couldn't take it. He backed out of the room and emptied the contents of his stomach on the floor. He coughed and wiped his mouth, then froze. He could feel, though a sixth sense, that Phantom was directly behind him. He looked up, now more frightened than he had ever been before in his life.

"You threw off my concentration," Phantom began. "I killed him too fast."

There was regret in that tone, but it was laced with a cruelty that made Motsumoto quiver. "I. . ."

"Shot me," Phantom finished for him. "Four times. You didn't aim well."

Motsumoto's legs kicked into movement, and got him standing. He stared at Phantom, gripping his gun tighter than he had before. "I failed. . ."

"No," Phantom interrupted, shaking his head and taking a step forward, directly over what used to be Motsumoto's dinner. He lifted his hand and touched Motsumoto's shoulder, at first lightly, then began pushing him backwards. Motsumoto had no choice but to follow, and with each step, Phantom's expression changed a little. It was sad at first, then began getting calmer and calmer, and eventually, he had a truly evil look.

The kind of look that made your blood freeze in your veins. Motsumoto's hands gripping his gun began tingling as they went numb from the hold he had on it. He pulled the trigger, and heard a clear sound of a bullet hitting flesh through clothes.

Phantom didn't stop, however, not until Motsumoto was pinned against a wall and fearing for his life. Phantom then smiled, showing a single elongated fang, and lifted his other hand into sight. Motsumoto stared at the second hand, at the tipped white claws extending from within the gloves.

Clack!

Motsumoto jumped and snapped his eyes shut. The pressure on his shoulder disappeared, and for a long moment, he thought he'd died. But then he opened his eyes. Phantom was still there, in front of him. His left hand was still raised, and Motsumoto recognized the pose of the fingers – he had simply snapped his fingers.

Then Motsumoto blinked, and in that split second, Phantom was gone. His gun dropped a second time from his hands, and he looked around sharply.

_**What was that?**_

He grabbed for a phone on the wall, but heard no dial tone, and dashed across the house again for his earphone communicator. He had to call this in. . . but what would he say? A demon – no, he said he was half demon – had broken in, had a little chat, killed Desyno, scared the living piss out of Motsumoto, but let him live in the end, only scaring him in a twisted joke?

How many people would believe all that?

_**Sarah Lanes' Office **_

She smiled as Kagome came in and sat down, noting a very grumpy-looking bodyguard glaring at her from the doorway as Kagome shut the doors.

"You decided not to let him in," Sarah observed.

Kagome nodded and took her seat, looking troubled. She fiddled with her hands and glanced around the office. Sarah watched her for a few moments, then clicked on the tape recorder and put her clipboard in her lap.

"What is it you wanted to say?"

"I'm confused," Kagome blurted out quickly.

Sarah nodded and noted that. "Confused about what, exactly?"

"I just. . ." She blushed and stared at her hands in her lap. "I really want to. . . to make love to him, but. . ." She shook her head.

"I cannot help if you cannot speak," Sarah said, gently. "If it'll help. . . I've been allowed to tell you something."

Kagome looked up, confused. "Tell me. . ?"

Sarah stood up and brushed her hair back to reveal her ears, which came to soft points. Kagome's jaw dropped. "You're a demon?" she snapped.

Inuyasha was inside the room almost before Kagome finished speaking, and stood guard in front of her, his left hand holding tight to Tessaiga. He was growling.

Sarah sat back down. "I was employed years ago, in fact, more than a century ago, by your older brother," she said, nodding at Inuyasha. "I asked him yesterday after our session, if I could tell you, Kagome-san. And you, Inuyasha-sama."

"Sama?" Inuyasha echoed. "Why give me such an honorific?"

She smiled. "That is something I can't divulge."

"Your name. . ." Kagome began.

Sarah looked at her. "My husband's last name is Lanes. I changed my first name about fifty years ago. Legally, of course."

"But, I mean. . . Sesshomaru-sama?" Kagome asked.

Sarah nodded. "You'll both be told about all of this, eventually. For now, just accept that I can't say anything more. After all," she added, sitting up straight, "this is _your_ time to let out _your_ feelings, Kagome-san."

Kagome looked away once more. "Inuyasha. . . would you step outside again?"

He sighed. "I want to be in here with you."

"Yes, but. . . I can't say everything I need to when I can see you. . ."

Sarah nodded. "Inuyasha-sama, it is best if a woman tells her feelings to another woman, especially in times like these."

He grumbled something and stomped out of the room, slamming the door so hard it cracked.

Kagome laughed nervously. "Um, I'm sure we can fix that. . ."

Sarah shook her head. "Sesshomaru-sama is paying for everything."

"But -"

"No buts, he has more than enough money to pay for the door and these sessions. Just please, tell me what you have to say."

Kagome looked down and gripped her skirt with both hands. "Okay. . ."

She took a deep breath and began.

_**Phantom **_

Climbing through the window each morning was a little cumbersome, but more or less worth it. Perhaps it was pointless to be sneaky, but then, it was ingrained in him. He'd have made a nice ninja if ever such a thing had appealed to him.

As soon as he got inside, he looked down at himself. All at once he didn't want blood on him, and began taking off his clothes, tossing them idly around the room. He sat down on the carpeted floor afterwards, nude, and crossed his legs. He stared at a single spot on the floor in front of him – maybe a drink or shot, perhaps a drop of blood – and thought over what happened this night.

Detective Motsumoto. First name, Higaru. Age, twenty nine. Marital status, divorced. Children, none. Yearly income, above average. Years as a policeman, four. Years as a detective, five. Years of therapy needed after tonight, probably a dozen.

He chuckled a little. Maybe it was overly cruel, but nothing really ever beat the look of absolute fear that humans could get in their eyes. It was cruel, really, but. . .

He couldn't be sad about it. Not since his world was taken from him. Making humans fear him wasn't exactly the definition of evil, anyway. Maybe he just lost touch with his feelings, or maybe he was waiting for his death as best as a man could.

He laid back on the carpet and stared up at the ceiling. His hand scratched his left side, felt the scar there. . . the only scar he had, a long one, almost perfectly white. . . He got it after _she_ died, when Sesshomaru was trying to bring him back to himself with sparring.

Sesshomaru's poison stung like hell when it got him. It took three days of his maids working on the wound to clean out the poison, and the scar remained ever since.

It also itched where he had been shot, but those wounds had closed and pushed out the bullets an hour ago. How nice it was, he supposed, to have a body with such strong immunities and healed so fast, than a bullet would be pushed out seemingly by itself.

Four shots in the back, one through his left shin, all of them painful, but not nearly as painful as the truth.

The truth. . .

He allowed it, this time, for the memories to return. Bittersweet images of his lost love, of her smile, of her eyes and voice and impossibly perfect scent. And of course, the feel of her in his arms, holding her, loving her, touching her. . . and later, carressing her womb and the child within. The child he never thought he could have.

The child he _didn't_ have. . .

He squeezed his eyes shut and the process brought a tear from one eye. A small tear, which only managed an inch trail before stopping. That wouldn't last long. . . it should be mere seconds before he found himself longing for death again, for all the pain to end. . .

And he allowed himself a new pleasure, as a new thought entered her mind.

She would be okay now. Her and their child. They would be **_okay._**

He smiled this time, which turned itself into a grin. He laughed in true joy for the first time in many, many years, even as he cried at his loss; he had to laugh in knowledge that it was okay now.

He sat up sharply, stood up, and began pacing restlessly. Now he could see her! Tell her. . . tell her and her mate. . . tell her everything. Knowing her well enough, he knew she would be saddened by his story, but dammit, it was okay now! He wouldn't allow her to cry for him, either.

No, he'd cried enough, plenty, for everyone on the planet.

Maybe he'd die tomorrow, after he told her, after he let his secret be known.

That sounded like a plan.

Although after centuries of being next to Sesshomaru, he seriously doubted the man's ability to simply let him die. And all of Sesshomaru's descendants – they certainly wouldn't look away and let it happen.

Then he had to die in private. Two days gone from this particular home, and Sesshomaru would know he allowed himself to die at last, and would come looking for his body. And he, himself, would look down on them from Heaven, glad he made everything right, even if it had torn him apart to do so. He would watch them give him a proper burial, as he knew Sesshomaru would order be done.

It was a chance that he would go to Hell for his lifetime of crimes, but that was fine. As long as she was okay.

. . . As long as she was okay. . .

_**Next Morning **_

As was the habit these days, Kagome woke and stretched in Inuyasha's arms. She moaned lightly and snuggled into him instinctively.

And she wasn't at all surprised that he was up, which he made obvious by groaning low and long. "Don't," he began, "um. . . don't do that."

She let go of him and sat up, smiling faintly. "Do what?"

"You know very well what," he snapped back, sitting up as well and throwing his legs off the bed so his back faced her.

She hugged him around his shoulders and rested her head on his shoulder, still partially asleep. "Mm-hmm."

He was talking about snuggling into him. He already told her, in so many words, that rubbing up against him makes his 'fucking body work overtime,' which was one of the crudest hints at arousal Kagome had ever heard. And so Kagome generally kept her distance.

Except for that moment in the forest. . . where the _hell_ had that come from, anyway?

"_Pent-up lust,"_ Sarah had said. _"It's not an uncommon side-effect of being raped, to want to know the better points of sex – especially when the woman was a virgin."_

That didn't exactly calm her down any. Now all she knew was, 'I'm lusting after Inuyasha because I know his sex would be better than what I was introduced to.'

Subconscious. Sarah had called it a subconscious realization.

After a few more moments, Kagome released him and looked around the room. Her eyes landed on her computer. Was she finished with that image yet? It struck her mind again, and she found herself eager to finish it and find out.

"Inuyasha," she said softly, "will you go see if breakfast is made?"

"Keh," he snorted. "Always so hungry." Despite his harsh insult, he got up and went downstairs to check. As he did so, Kagome got up and sat once more at the desk.

She opened the program and zoomed in, then began clicking again. Inuyasha was back in five seconds with a 'yes,' followed by, 'now get downstairs and eat, wench!'

She merely smiled. His recurring insults only proved that things were getting back to normal, despite the short amount of time between her rape, trial, and now. She hid the program and went downstairs. After dinner, Mama turned on the news loudly so anyone walking by the living room would hear it.

And Kagome heard it, as she was about to go upstairs – Inuyasha was taking a shower, as he found them much more favorable to baths. Quite clearly, a female host was speaking. . .

"The sixth death occurred late last night, with a sixth, and final, message. It read simply, 'He defiled her last.' Once more we shall list the messages and to whom they pertain.

"Hisochane Ishi – He touched her first. Yashutino Kei – He hurt her second. Tsunemi Okiano – He cut her third. Yashutino Ryoki – He made her cry fourth. Itsukonomu Serio – He frightened her fifth. Desyno Firino – He defiled her last.

"We have yet to discover the whereabouts of. . ."

Kagome didn't hear it after that. The faces of each of those men were imprinted on her mind, linked with names that she would never forget. . . And as that list played, her memory played.

Hisochane _had _touched her first. He made it painfully obvious that as the leader of their little band, he always got to touch their captive first.

Yashutino Kei _had_ hurt her second. When she had struggled against Hisochane, Yashutino hit her, hard. Despite lookin the finest of all the men, he was the brute.

Tsunemi _had_ cut her third. The hit hadn't stopped her from struggling, she doubted anything could have made her stop protesting, and Tsunemi had cut her in several places.

Yashutino Ryoki _had_ made her cry fourth. More pointedly because he had dribbled bits of salt in her eyes, muttering obscenely to his friends that a crying woman made it better.

Itsukonomu _had_ frightened her fifth. He was the most frightening of them all, really – even more so than Hisochane had been, who reminded strongly of Naraku himself, except that Naraku had kept himself immaculately clean. A hulking brute of a man, he had more strength in him than the rest combined.

And Desyno had finished it, in a sense.

She sat down on the stairs. They were killed in the order they began that day, and the knowledge made her head spin. Someone knew, unconditionally, exactly what had happened that day, and turned poetic justice into a deadly game. _For her._

Inuyasha told her he hadn't. She truly believed him on this. And she hasn't told a single living soul yet, exactly what had happened in that room. Yet someone _knew._

There was a second possibility in her mind, that the men had a habit, a routine, about how they went about their darker pleasures. And she wasn't the only one subjected to it; that she knew. There could have been hundreds of women all across Japan, and perhaps overseas, who had felt their touches.

Perhaps plenty of them hadn't survived the excursions.

". . .Kagome!"

She snapped her consciousness back into place and jerked, looking around sharply. It was Souta calling her, tugging at her sleeve. When she responded to him, he seemed to relax, and stopped tugging.

"Geez, Kagome, you scared me!" he said, sighing.

"S-sorry, Souta," she said with some difficulty, finding her voice again. She cleared her throat. "What is it?"

He shook his head, seemingly have forgotten. Then he looked up, "Oh yeah! Remember that guy who I saw a couple days ago?"

She blinked. "Who?"

He gave her a kid-like glare. "That guy who looked lost, who Mama's worried about?"

"Oh." She nodded as the conversation returned to her mind.

"What about him?" a gruff voice called from behind her.

She stood up and turned around, facing Inuyasha as he rubbed a towel through his hair. For a moment she was stunned silent, looking at him.

His clothes must still be wet, because he was wearing an actual pair of dress pants that Mama had purchased for him a few months back. He had a shirt tossed over his arm, apparently having gotten one arm through the sleeve before deciding that he needed to dry his hair first.

She could have drooled.

"He's outside," Souta said, breaking into her fantasies.

She looked down at Souta, at first not quite comprehending what he was talking about. And then she blinked and nodded. "Right, he's outside. Wait, he's outside?" she asked sharply, doing a double-take as her mind caught up with her.

"Yeah," Souta replied, nodding quickly. "He actually said he wanted to talk to you and Inuyasha," he went on, then stepped past Kagome and shouldered by Inuyasha. Message having been given, he obviously decided his video games were more interesting.

Kagome met Inuyasha's eyes, and though the man outside was a point to look into, she was having trouble not focusing on Inuyasha's naked chest before her.

Inuyasha opened his mouth to speak, noticed her eyes jerk down to his front, then back up with lust laced within, and apparently decided his hair was dry enough. He tossed the towel at her, so it covered her face, and his turned his back as he slipped the shit on. It was a vain attempt at hiding his blush as the full realization of what he showed Kagome hit him.

He cleared his throat and grasped his self-control before turning back around and facing her, shoving away thoughts of Kagome naked and sweaty in his mind.

"Shall we go see him?" he asked gruffly but quietly, an odd mixture, and evidently proving his embarrassment and heated thoughts.

Kagome blinked again. "Y-yeah," she said. "Let's go."

Inuyasha's thoughts were on Sesshomaru. Man with white hair; could be him. Seemed to fit. After all, Souta didn't know what Sesshomaru looked like, and it would only fit that the bastard came here to make them pay for everything his own money had provided.

But why would he look lost and sad, as Souta had said? There was only one way to find out, and Inuyasha swept up Tessaiga from the kitchen table on his way out the door. (His new habit in the house was to leave Tessaiga on the table or in Kagome's room.)

Kagome trailed behind him, trying to read his thoughts, and failing. His expression changed dramatically over only a few seconds, and it disturbed her a little to see that look of concentration on his face. A look that she hadn't seen since the destruction of Naraku, when they had a plan going and Inuyasha was following it for the life of him.

Literally.

_**:End Chapter:**_

YAR I be updatin', that I be!

For some odd reason yet identified, I have spoken thus for a week now. I'll figure it out later.

On a note every man and/or lesbian woman should hear: I'm in loooooooove!

Yes, that's right, your authoress got herself a cute 'n cuddly man. Or I think he's cute 'n cuddly. I don't care what you think. All I know is he's MINE! Mwa hahahahaha!

Therefore. . .

**_:Releases Naraku:_** Don't exactly need him anymore.

_**:Naraku screams happiness, becomes a priest, and saves the world from his younger self:**_

Okay, show of hands. . . who saw that comin'? -.-

Also. . .

Tetsusaiga.

Incorrect.

I know that the anime has spelled it 'Tetsusaiga' for a long time. . . in fact the entire anime length. . . but it's incorrect. Rumiko Takahashi spelled it 'Tessaiga'.

The translators got this wrong because of the style of Kanji used to write the word. If it were indeed spelled 'Tetsusaiga,' then Sesshomaru's name would in fact be 'Setsushomaru.'

And that just ain't so imposing or strong, is it?

Try to keep this in mind. There is also the spelling of Sesshomaru's sword – I have seen it spelled both 'Tensaiga' and 'Tenseiga.' I've yet to figure which one is in fact correct. I'm leaning towards 'Tenseiga' myself.

And my spellchecker certainly seems to like it.

The difference between those two spellings, in case you can't tell, you English-speaking wannabe anime-lovers, is the pronunciation.

"Ten-sigh-ga" Tensaiga.

"Ten-say-ga" Tenseiga.

See ya! **_:Wink:_**


	19. The Story Of A Lifetime

He grabbed for a phone on the wall, but heard no dial tone, and dashed across the house again for his earphone communicator. He had to call this in. . . but what would he say? A demon – no, he said he was half demon – had broken in, had a little chat, killed Desyno, scared the living piss out of Motsumoto, but let him live in the end, only scaring him in a twisted joke?

How many people would believe all that?

_** Sarah Lanes' Office **_

Kagome looked down and gripped her skirt with both hands. "Okay. . ."

She took a deep breath and began.

_** Phantom **_

It was a chance that he would go to Hell for his lifetime of crimes, but that was fine. As long as she was okay.

. . . As long as she was okay. . .

_** Next Morning **_

Kagome trailed behind him, trying to read his thoughts, and failing. His expression changed dramatically over only a few seconds, and it disturbed her a little to see that look of concentration on his face. A look that she hadn't seen since the destruction of Naraku, when they had a plan going and Inuyasha was following it for the life of him.

Literally.

**_Fifty One_** _Back to this number, are we? Kinda fits that the climactic ending is coming at the same chapter number that Trans. began its ending at. That doesn't make me a copycat of myself, does it? O.o_

When they stepped outside, the first thing Kagome noticed about the man upon seeing him was that he looked almost entirely monochromatic. All black clothes, with almost perfectly white hair, even black sunglasses and hat. He had his hands in his coat pockets, his side facing her as he stared up at the God Tree, his mouth slightly open as though in awe.

"Hello?" she tried, even as Inuyasha stopped halfway between her and this man, growling menacingly. The appearance and feel of this man struck Kagome as so odd that she didn't think to scold Inuyasha for growling at a stranger.

He jerked when she called out to him, and all at once he looked almost terrified. Even as Kagome stood more than ten feet away, she could clearly see it when he began shaking, which he hadn't been moments before. He turned on his heel to face her and Inuyasha, though she didn't know who he was looking at because of his sunglasses.

He wet his lips, opened his mouth, then shut it again and promptly looked down. Kagome was more than a little confused by this, but apparently Inuyasha wasn't, because he snatched out his hands – Tessaiga hung securely in his belt once more – grabbed the man by the lapels of his coat, and glared in a way that only Sesshomaru or a close friend would be able to face without pissing themselves.

"What the fuck do you want?" Inuyasha snapped cruelly.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome scolded. "Will you let him go? You said yourself you don't –"

"Let me handle this," Inuyasha returned hotly.

Indignant fury rose in Kagome at that. "Oh, so now you're the big bad tough guy again? You were cuddling me just this morning!"

Though Inuyasha blushed at that and let go of the man, he snapped over his shoulder, "Yeah, and what of it? I didn't **have** to, wench!"

Kagome scoffed in return, "I swear, Inuyasha, if it wouldn't give us away I'd –"

"It won't," the man interrupted, and as Kagome's focus shifted back to him, she realized that he had taken a step back from Inuyasha and had in fact been chuckling at them. "You hide no secrets from me," he explained.

"And what the fuck is that supposed to mean?" Inuyasha demanded harshly.

It was obvious by the way the man turned his head towards Inuyasha that his eyes had shifted to the hanyou, and he smiled smally. "Just what I said. There's nothing the two of you know about each other that I don't."

Kagome's insides froze very slowly, and her mind seemed to be working just as sluggishly. Though she heard Inuyasha's swears as he demanded the man to explain, her mind was speaking to her in an almost foreign way.

_It was him, he killed them all. He knows you and Inuyasha just as well as you do. He's not a stalker or he wouldn't have let himself be seen. He speaks kindly, he seems scared, he looks like he's in pain – this is the Phantom and he knows **you.**_

Kagome's brain seemed to click then, and she said very simply, "Take off your hat and glasses."

Inuyasha, who had the man by his lapels again and was shaking him as though it would help, abruptly let go and took a step back. When the man didn't make a motion other than straightening his coat, Inuyasha barked out, "You heard her, take them off!"

The man smiled wryly and did as he was told. His glasses came off first, but he kept his eyes closed, making it only slightly easier to recognize him. And Kagome recognized him – but from where, exactly?

Then he took off his hat and both Inuyasha and Kagome stood, stunned.

"Inuyasha," Kagome said softly.

Inuyasha looked over his shoulder at her, "What?" he snapped.

She shook her head. "It's you," she said.

The man standing before her had dog ears atop his head, and bangs matching Inuyasha's. Though his hair was much shorter, save for his forelocks, it was the same color, if not a few tones lighter. His eyes were the same golden shade, but even so, they looked entirely different. There was a universe of pain in each eye, infinite sadness, and a heartbroken look that made her heart clench in her chest. Enveloping all three was a longing that swallowed up the others, almost hiding them.

Inuyasha looked back at the man. "But there's only one of me," he argued uselessly.

"I think," Kagome began, still staring, "that you came here to say something."

His eyes grew sadder, if it were possible. She was sure, then, that something truly horrible had happened to him, something him mind was both trying to recall and trying to keep hidden away. What would put that look in his eyes, that. . . that. . .

There wasn't even a word for it.

"I did," he told her. "But I can't. . . not out here." He looked over at the Inuyasha Kagome knew; caught his gaze. "I'll try to explain, but we need to go inside."

For a moment Kagome's fury rose up again at the fact that he looked pointedly away from her, and then two things dawned on her: Firstly that Inuyasha was perfectly still at the moment, obviously needing a push to get in gear again, and secondly that looking at her had made that look of sadness intensify and he would probably be better off looking at his younger self anyway.

"Yeah – Inuyasha?" she said, softly. She touched his shoulder. "Inside, like he asked?"

Inuyasha seemed to jump before shaking his head. "Yeah, yeah, inside, right. . ." he mumbled. He turned and headed for the house, grasping Kagome's forearm as he went and holding it tightly, pulling her along with him.

It took a little while for them all to get settled and a bit of privacy in the living room. Mama had stumbled upon them three seconds after the three of them were inside and had nearly fainted in her surprise and shock, then asked a million questions. The older Inuyasha would only give one answer: "I need to tell them first."

Mama had then allowed them to speak in the living room, dashing away to tell Grandpa what she knew – which wasn't much. Kagome and the younger Inuyasha sat on the couch while the older Inuyasha sat on the chair. He stared at his feet for a few long moments, doing idle things such as taking off his gloves and coat and laying them across his lap.

Killing time, or so it appeared. Then he finally spoke.

"Three years from now," he began. "The whole thing. . . it started three years from now. I can't. . . tell you everything, but I can tell you most of it. . ."

"Why the fuck would you be holding back on us?" Inuyasha snapped harshly at his older self.

"Because. . . some of it would give away your future together. . . and some of it I. . . I don't think I could. . . relive. Again, I mean." He had that sad look in his eyes again, that beyond-infinitely sad look that made Kagome hurt, even as he stared only at his booted feet with a faraway look. She would almost think his mind wasn't here, if he hadn't responded to his younger self's harsh inquiry.

"Just tell us what we need to know," Kagome suggested gently.

He looked up at her, sharply, when she said that. There was shock and confusion in his eyes now, almost swallowing the pain and sorrow, along with clear tinges of nostalgia. After what had to be twenty full seconds of him just staring as though he were looking at a ghost, the pain and sadness returned and he shook his head.

And then he started with the story:

"Like I said, it was. . . three years from now. We only became closer, Kagome and me. . ." He paused and Kagome understood why he speaking_ about_ her instead of_ to _her, because she wasn't _his_ Kagome. He continued, "On her eighteenth birthday, I had a whole day planned in my era. After she had fun with her friends and family here, I brought her back and tried my best at giving her the best ending to the best day I knew how. And when the moon was at its peak. . ." He paused again; the memory seemed to bring him pain and he blinked harshly, holding back tears but smiling. Eyes still shut tight, he went on, "We made love.

"The trouble happened the next year. She was pregnant, and seven months along. Those men that. . . that had raped her. . ." As he said this, Kagome's stomach froze as she realized that her self that once belonged to _him_ had been raped as well. He seemed to have an extremely hard time saying this, but went on, as though Kagome and his younger self weren't there, "three of them got out of prison. I don't know how; I never made it back to check. They found Kagome. . .

"She'd been out of practice. It'd been two years since she'd had to use her arrows or fight in any way; everything had been so calm. . . and she. . . she didn't have any bows in the Shrine anyway. . . she. . ." he broke off and held his hands to his head for a moment, as one would hold themselves when having a migraine, "she knew she couldn't fight them. . . they found her at the Shrine. . . and I, I was. . . in my era. . .

"She made it to the well, and jumped down, but. . . I-I didn't realize. . . she was. . . I came running when I. . . I smelled her blood and. . . but when I got there, it was. . . over. . . and they were. . . looking around and co. . . covered in her blood. . ." He broke off again with a harsh sob holding his head tighter but took deep breaths to calm himself, and all at once began talking much faster, throwing the words out his mouth, as though it could lessen the pain of remembering.

"I attacked them before I could think, and when they were dead, I jumped down in the well. She was down there, she had already died, and the baby – the ba-baby – she had – it was – it was a girl –" he gave another sob but went on hurriedly – "but the baby was dead too, and I couldn't stop myself, I just screamed and screamed. It was M-Miroku and Sango who found me, the n-next day, I was sitting in the well, hugging my f. . . _family_ and crying and they tried to get me out, they knew what had happened. . .

"I broke down, mentally, they said, I wouldn't leave the well, I kept jumping down it and trying to get it working again but Kagome's blood had sealed it – I couldn't get through no matter how hard I tried!" Once more he paused to give a sob, lurching forward warningly, looking like he was about to empty his stomach, tears already coming in streams down his cheeks. He shuddered as he breathed, seemed to calm himself, and sat back up.

His hands finally released his head and laid almost too gently on his lap, he stared at his knees, and continued yet again.

"They buried her and the baby there, cause I couldn't get them back. I couldn't attend the funeral, couldn't see her put in the ground, not like my mother; I couldn't _see_ that happen to Kagome!" He sniffed and took another deep breath.

"I think it was. . . god, I don't know. . . maybe weeks, maybe months, maybe days. . . Sesshomaru showed up. I don't know why he was there but I didn't care. I just waiting for my body to die; I hadn't eaten, hadn't slept, I knew I looked like shit but I didn't care about that, either. Sesshomaru said some rehearsed shit about fate and weaknesses and strength and all that. I didn't even hear him. Then he hit me, really hard, too.

"I didn't bother getting back up; I was hoping the bastard would just kill me and end it. He didn't, though, in fact he picked me up by my haori and dragged me behind him. He even took flight at one point, I don't know why; I never thought to ask. But he took me to his castle, threw me in one of the rooms, said some other rehearsed shit about having to get better for revenge or something. I wasn't listening.

"Next morning he came by the room again, I hadn't moved in the slightest. Some maid youkai came in and started cleaning me up, but I was beyond willpower to tell them to stop, to not bother about it. They washed me off and put me in some yukata I'd never seen before, took my clothes to get them washed. Three of them stayed in the room and tried to get me to eat something, but nothing went down, not even when they pressed it to the back of my throat.

"Next morning rolls around and Sesshomaru's back again, 'checking on me,' he said, along with that girl, Rin. She hugged me and chatted away cheerfully, made a wreath of flowers and put them on my head. The entire time I was just laying there, staring up at the ceiling, didn't hear a word the kid said. Every day was like that, for years, I think.

"First Sesshomaru and that kid come in, she chats up a storm, hugs me a lot, then the maids come in, wash me down, change my clothes, try to feed me. Sometimes Sesshomaru and Rin come in after that, at night, try to talk some sense into me, and so on. Mostly I just laid there and sometimes cried; I don't think Sesshomaru ever knew how much pain I was in, or else he didn't care much.

"Then every morning when he shows up he says the same thing: 'If you wait for her time to return, could you not stop her death from happening?' He had to say it repeatedly, probably said it every day for months before it hit me. By then Rin went from a kid in puberty to a teenager in love with some demon, I never looked into who, but I think Sesshomaru gave him a run for his money before letting him court her.

"I started hanging out in the gardens on the other side of my room after that. Sometimes for days a time, I would be out there, and just lay there, trying to build up my strength again. I was more than half dead, I even have a few hints that Sesshomaru had to use Tenseiga more than once to bring me back. At least it felt that way.

"By the time I was up to walking around consciously again, I remember Rin had already mated that demon she was in love with and had three little whelps. Almost made me laugh how Sesshomaru still claimed to hate hanyous and humans, but kept those kids around him a lot."

He paused there, contemplating his feet once more. Kagome took the moment to return to herself instead of the painful emotions that had wrought her as she listened to him, to find that Inuyasha had wrapped his arms around her and was holding her tightly to him. She looked over her shoulder at him and saw a world of suffering in his eyes; fear, pain, sorrow, anger, even bits of paranoia, all in his eyes, working up his insecurities and making him cling to her.

He was clinging to her. . . She thought he was holding her to keep her calm, but he was holding her, to prove to himself that she was there, that this wasn't a dream, that what happened three years in the future and five centuries in the past never happened to him.

The older Inuyasha shook his head once more, still focusing on his shoes, and went on once again.

"I don't know exactly when I finally returned to myself, but Rin was an old woman by then with seven grandkids, all of them perfect in Sesshomaru's eyes. They all liked me, though I didn't know why; they clung to me a lot, poked me a lot, talked more than their grandmother had – it was infuriating, but at the same time, it made me hurt and smile, thinking that my da – my daughter could have been like that.

"Then this demon attacked with the need to destroy the world and all that shit, and the fight helped a lot, getting me to think straight again. I helped Sesshomaru kill him, in fact I _had_ to, cause the guy was too strong and fast and too damned smart for Sesshomaru to beat alone. All these demon allies of Sesshomaru's came and helped, but in the end it was me and Sesshomaru that killed off the bastard.

"The whole time I kept thinking how weak I'd become, how much stronger I was when Kagome was around. I died with Tessaiga in my hands while fighting that guy, and afterwards Sesshomaru revived me. It was a. . . what do you call it. . ? An epiphany. When I woke up, I knew exactly what I had to do.

"So I started planning and talking to Sesshomaru more. Everything I'd learned from Kagome's time I started writing down and giving to him; logos, jingles, products, maps, lists of electronics, places to be, languages and people, automobiles, airplanes; the works. I guess it was then that I proved my worth to Sesshomaru, cause after that he started calling me 'brother' and having his servants call me 'Inuyasha-sama.'

"And the time came when I had to. . . put this huge plan into motion. I'd been working on it for a century, looking over it, making sure it was perfect. To make sure that Kagome wouldn't be raped, wouldn't die; she would live and be happy, even if it cost me my life.

"But I couldn't watch her, even look at her, not until now. . ." He paused when he said this and looked up at Kagome, somewhat sadly as always, but managed a true smile that highlighted his face and eyes, even if it didn't erase the pain and longing in his gaze. He continued, "I sent a demon to watch over you that day," speaking directly to Kagome, "but I didn't realize there could have been _two_ threats to watch out for."

"Two?" the younger Inuyasha echoed. "_Two_?"

The older Inuyasha nodded. "Yeah. . . Turns out some higher-class kids were going to use the girls from your grade and class to hold the school hostage. While the demon dealt with those kids, you were walking home, alone. . . And when he finally got back on your scent, you were gone. Completely. He had a weak nose. I should have picked somebody with a stronger sense of smell, but nobody else was more dedicated to Sesshomaru, more loyal and unquestioning of his orders.

"Then he comes back telling me that he _lost_ you, how sorry he was, how he didn't know where you went. . . I almost killed him because I snapped; I'd been known to do that over the centuries, a lot. But even though I knew where you were, I couldn't come after you myself, it was too late. I looked at the time and I knew my younger self was minutes away from finding you. . .

"And then there was the news. I remember you made me promise I wouldn't kill them, even hurt them; that I was going to leave them alone to spend the rest of their days in prison. But I knew they'd get out now. And I knew that I had to kill them before they could. Just hurting them wouldn't work.

"I'd been planning how I was going to torture them for a long time. The only thing that changed because they'd actually gotten to you, was how they'd be caught, and how you two would react from then on."

"How," Kagome began, "did you know what order they. . ?" She couldn't finish and leaned farther into Inuyasha as she waited for an answer.

"You told me," he replied, very softly. She'd only just heard him. His eyes were swimming in tears that hadn't shed yet, and he went on, "You told me, after you became pregnant, to end all the secrets between us. You told me how the entire. . . rape. . . went, and I sat quiet and listened the whole time."

"But you promised you wouldn't," Kagome argued uselessly.

He shook his head. "That was a different lifetime. I died, probably more than once. And Kagome. . . look, I didn't want to ask you this. . . but just sitting her near you is killing me. . ."

She was startled to say the least, but nodded. "What is it?"

"Can I. . ." he swallowed, "can I touch you?"

_Touch?_ That was _it?_ Well, maybe it was nothing to Kagome, but to _him_. . . He hadn't been able to touch her in five centuries! And how could she ever deny him? He may be different, but the soul behind those eyes was Inuyasha's. He was Inuyasha. Her Inuyasha, even if he belonged to a different 'her.'

She nodded. "Of course."

A corner of his lips lifted as she said that, and a light danced in his eyes. Now that his question was asked, however, he didn't seem to know how to go about it. The younger of the two, still holding Kagome, looked shocked that she had agreed, but at the same time, shocked at himself for feeling jealous and angry about it. He grudgingly let Kagome go and scooted a few inches away, allowing his older self to see that he was okay with it.

Maybe he wasn't, but he just knew he'd get sat if he argued about it.

The older Inuyasha motioned to get up out of the chair, paused, sat back, looked around the room, down at the claws on his right hand, back up at Kagome, and finally slid out of the chair to sit on his knees. He half-waddled closer to Kagome, until his stomach was nearly touching her knees, his face only inches from hers, and lifted his hand. He opened his mouth to speak, made a few odd sounds, laughed at himself, shut his mouth, and finally touched her cheek, feather-light; he grinned.

He let out a quick breath, as though relieved. "I haven't forgotten," he half-explained when Kagome tilted her head in question. "I thought I might've forgotten. . ."

He didn't give any further reason than that, and Kagome shrugged it off, shutting her eyes and pressing her cheek into his touch more. He kind of giggled when she did that, an almost hysterical sound, and snatched his hand back. He was looking elsewhere now, somewhat forlorn again.

And he asked another question, "Will you, just. . . touch me?" he muttered quietly.

The younger Inuyasha stuttered in protest, and – unable to find his voice – stood up and gestured at his older self and Kagome as though asking that question was the crudest thing a person could do.

Kagome shook her head at the younger of the two and smiled back at the older. He'd been through a lot, and was asking her very, very little. So she reached out and cupped his cheek, finding it cooler than she'd expected, mimicking his touch to her cheek but with more contact.

He shuddered in what had to be pure pleasure. He tilted his head towards her hand, almost laying his head in her hand, and then abruptly threw himself forward. His face pressed into her thighs, his arms linked around her waist, and he sobbed harshly. Kagome didn't know what set him off exactly, but she doubted she could have gotten an answer out of him.

Her own emotions at the moment confused and relaxed her at the same time. She should have blushed at where his head was, she should have screamed in fear and torturous memories; she should have pushed him back for not being _her_ Inuyasha.

But instead she smiled sadly and pet his shoulders and hair where she could reach. The younger Inuyasha's jaw simply dropped as he watched this, and he began pacing the room as he struggled to understand, to calm himself, and to allow this to just happen.

"Am I interrupting?" a smooth voice asked.

All three looked up towards the kitchen, where a very obvious high-ranked businessman stood stoically. Kagome felt an odd recognition as she looked at him; that was Sesshomaru, yet it wasn't. He had Sesshomaru's face, was Sesshomaru's height, had Sesshomaru's hair and Sesshomaru's emotionless gaze.

But the crescent moon, the streaks, the pinkish eyeshadow were missing; he had a briefcase in his left hand, where Sesshomaru didn't have a left _arm._ But who else could it be?

"I let him in," Mama said, coming around the corner. She stopped dead when she noticed the older Inuyasha still had his head in Kagome's lap. "Kagome, what. . ?"

"It's okay, Mama," Kagome told her. As she looked down, she could see dark spots where Inuyasha had cried, even as his head still laid in her lap, only now he was looking at Sesshomaru. Kagome looked up again; was that truly Sesshomaru?

_**:End Chapter:**_

Why oh why did this go so wrong?

You may not see it, but I do. I had dozens of ways in my head for me to write this. One involved a flashback, but as it turns out, not very many people like flashbacks. Still, this chapter took a different turn from them all.

Shows how well I can follow plans, don't it? -.-

Moving ahead. . .

Hmm, is there anything new to say? . .

Maybe. . .

**_:Breaks out the Army of Good Reviewers and Lightning once again:_** Review I say! I swear, if I get one more e-mail from one of you saying, "Oh, I really should review more often," I'm gonna start demanding a certain amount of reviews before I update! How would you like THAT?

Okay maybe I won't. I just like getting reviews. In hindsight it's really a good thing, isn't it, when I don't get that many reviews? It means you guys can't find anything wrong, right?

WRONG!

Point out the parts you liked, the parts you didn't. Although, you should leave the OBVIOUS parts you did/didn't like out. Everybody likes fluff and nobody likes pain.

Unless you're S&M. But I don't need to know if you are or not. Seriously, don't tell me. If you tell me you're Masochist, I just might take advantage of that. Just call me Dominatrix.

Err, in hindsight, forget about that part. **_:Whistles idly:_**

Now, my pretties, ATTACK! And my attacked, REVIEW!

_**:Army attacks, Attacked reviews:**_

You got that? **_:Stern, disapproving look:_**

See yas!


	20. Sorry

Sorry about not updating in forever, folks. I'm in something of a depression, and couple that with insane writer's block, I got nuthin'. I'll try to get on with the next chapter since I know you're all waiting, but I can't make promises about finishing it anytime soon, or about its quality. I really don't want to dump all my problems, but please, if you don't think I'm the kind of person you'd like, don't IM me. Last thing I need is to add another person to my list who'll end up telling the rest of my buddies to pretend he/she is always offline to avoid talking to me.

True friends say what's bothering them, dangit.

DL


	21. Recruiting

"I let him in," Mama said, coming around the corner. She stopped dead when she noticed the older Inuyasha still had his head in Kagome's lap. "Kagome, what. . ?"

"It's okay, Mama," Kagome told her. As she looked down, she could see dark spots where Inuyasha had cried, even as his head still laid in her lap, only now he was looking at Sesshomaru. Kagome looked up again; was that truly Sesshomaru?

**_Fifty Two_**_ Lookit that, no subject change. That hasn't happened in a while, hehe._

The moment the older Inuyasha's eyes landed on the briefcase, he glared at the man. "I don't need it," he said, impossibly clearly.

Kagome looked down at him, then back up at that new man – Sesshomaru or not, he definitely had that cold, measuring look that made most humans and demons shiver in fear.

Currently he looked exasperated down at the older hanyou. "You always say that you do not need it."

What were they talking about? Kagome could only wonder as the conversation drew out.

"Because I don't!"

"I see. And all those times in the past where you went berserk and killed my subordinates, that was. . ?"

He growled and turned his face into Kagome's lap again. Obviously, that had struck a cord, and Kagome found herself petting him somewhat awkwardly while she addressed that Sesshomaru man.

"Who are you?"

He looked a tiny bit surprised, which was covered in an instant. And then, oddly, he smiled. "It's only natural you don't fully recognize me. We cast a lot of illusionary spells these days. Demons, that is. I am still Sesshomaru."

She nodded, and now that she looked, she saw a shimmer, saw some of his usual colorings appear and fade out again. The shimmer wasn't so much on him as it was in her mind. Slightly confusing, but somewhat comforting – at least he was a person she knew – she relaxed a little more and leaned back into the cushions.

"So what are you doing here?"

Sesshomaru actually heaved a sigh and more or less collapsed in the chair recently vacated. He rubbed his eyes, looking very old at that moment. He answered, "Trying to watch over my little brother here. He's been 'disappearing' of late."

Though he growled and was about to snap out a reply, Kagome cut in before the elder Inuyasha could respond.

"You look a lot older than I remember," she said. Though the statement could have cost her life on the other side of the well, she felt no danger whatsoever from the Sesshomaru sitting not five feet from her.

In fact he smiled at her, again. "Yes, demons do age as well."

Having a chance to speak at last, the younger Inuyasha blurted harshly, "How old _are_ you?"

Once more, Sesshomaru sighed and leaned back in the chair, dropping his head back. He most certainly looked like life was wearing him down. "Almost two thousand years."

Kagome's eyes bugged. "Wait, so. . . I mean. . ."

The older Inuyasha lifted his head and sat back, finally releasing her completely, although it looked forceful. He said, "Math. You can figure out how long a demon is going to live by comparing them with humans. Like with humans, though, good health adds years. In demons' cases, that could be centuries. Sesshomaru should live for another seven hundred years, give or take."

Kagome tried to make it look like she understood all that, but the words flew in one ear and out the other. Inuyasha moved and sat down beside her, the move effectively reminding all present that she was his and no one else's.

The older Inuyasha actually laughed, however. His eyes were shining when he said to her, "Math still escapes you. Hate to tell you this, but it always will. At least. . . for the next three years," he added, looking away.

"Simply put," Sesshomaru interrupted, as though he had done this a thousand times before, "the age I feel is roughly that of a human sixty years old."

Kagome blinked. "Sixty. . ?" As a new thought came to her, she couldn't stop herself from speaking, "Then five hundred years ago. . ."

"I was just about forty-five," Sesshomaru answered her.

_Middle-aged._ She could hardly keep her jaw in place, staring at Sesshomaru in complete shock. "Wait, wait wait," she said. "But you've never looked a day over twenty-five!"

His lip quirked. "Do I still?" he asked, as though he were asking himself.

"But then, Inuyasha. . ." She looked down at him, sitting on the floor and staring at her still.

"Seven hundred and forty-five."

She stared again, then glanced over at her Inuyasha. "That would make you. . ."

He looked away. She sighed. "Inuyasha, you told me you were a hundred and fifty."

"Consciously, I am."

Her eyebrow quirked. "You're over two hundred."

"Two hundred twenty-three, if I remember correctly," the elder Inuyasha added.

Her mind spun. This was so completely wrong by human standards, yet didn't Kagome say once before that his age didn't matter? Then again, if he had _looked_ over two centuries old, she might have had another opinion altogether.

"Alright, let's leave that subject," she stated firmly.

Sesshomaru chuckled. "I know what you want to ask."

She shut her mouth and looked away.

"Inuyasha will likely live to be one thousand, one hundred twenty."

_One thousand, one hundred twenty. Seven hundred forty five._ She looked over at the elder Inuyasha, trying to do the math in her head and coming up blank. He must have read her mind, for he answered her unspoken question.

"Fifty three."

Again, all she could say was, "You don't look it."

He grinned. "I won't until my body catches up with its own age."

"When will that be?"

He shrugged. "Maybe a few years before I die, maybe a century; we don't know."

She looked over the younger hanyou and took his hand, not knowing why but feeling she needed to hand onto him. Her movement didn't go unnoticed by anyone, it seemed, but she ignored two of the room's occupants and studied her Inuyasha.

He was definitely contemplating; that was written all over him. He had a deep look of concentration, looking down at his knees as he thought. He hand reflexively contracted around hers every few seconds, making her think that he was either telling her that he was still here, or he was using her as a lifeline to keep from falling deep into himself.

It didn't really matter what reason he had, the point remained that it was helping Kagome calm herself as well. She tugged on his hand, at a loss of what else to say. At least, until she remembered Sarah Lanes.

She looked over at Sesshomaru. "Sarah Lanes is under your employment?" she asked.

He gave her a half-smile, which was so odd to her that she almost shivered, but he nodded. "Yes, in fact, she helped treat this runt here." He gestured at the elder Inuyasha.

And Inuyasha glared right back. "You're the fucking one who needs therapy," he snapped.

Sesshomaru raised a brow at him. "How so?"

"You and your brood; 'Look at me, I'm Sesshomaru,'" Inuyasha mocked in a high-pitched voice, "'and I've got kids and grandkids and great grandkids and can't let one of them come within a hundred miles without saying hello to me!'"

Kagome snickered despite herself, then cleared her throat, even as Sesshomaru regarded Inuyasha with an odd amused look.

"Quite," he agreed.

The elder Inuyasha rolled his eyes while the younger one finally glanced up and sat up straight, having found his strength once again.

"Why do you bother helping me?" he asked roughly.

Sesshomaru shrugged. "As one gets older, one yearns for family," he said easily. "I only have one brother."

The elder Inuyasha looked away at that, a hard yet pained look crossing his features, and Kagome found herself staring in question. What was he thinking? As far as she knew, Inuyasha had always wanted to be accepted, not just by the humans or demons, but by his one and only brother. The elder Inuyasha had that; what could he possibly be thinking to put that look on his face?

"That's fucking it?" younger Inuyasha snapped, standing up. "I've been having one damned hell of a time trying to get you to just be _nice_ to me, and it takes fucking growing old?"

"Inuyasha," Kagome reprimanded gently. "Wisdom comes with age."

"Fuck wisdom!" he snapped, not so much at her as everyone and thing else. He glared directly at Sesshomaru. "I can't believe you! Invited yourself to Kagome's fucking house, sit there and tell us how 'good' you've become, how old you fucking are – why don't you just drop dead!"

What shocked Kagome more than that speech was the elder Inuyasha – he mouthed every single word that his younger self had said, almost in perfect rhythm.

And Sesshomaru leaned back in the chair, dropping his head back. "I've heard that before. Well, not in the same place as this, so a few words changed. . . but still." He lifted his head and looked down at the elder Inuyasha. "I have heard it before."

"But how?" Kagome asked, staring.

The elder Inuyasha looked up at her. "I went through the same thing. The only difference was. . . you were pregnant at the time. I. . . well, this Sesshomaru wasn't there, but I told him how it went."

The younger Inuyasha's eye twitched. "Why?" he asked, flatly.

"Because," his older self said, looking over at him and standing, "I used to blab unconsciously."

"Used to?" Sesshomaru quoted. "I believe I heard you doing just that sometime yesterday."

"Take a glance at a calender; you weren't even in the house yesterday," he said back.

"You think I don't have cameras in my own house," Sesshomaru stated.

Inuyasha shook his head. "Not ones with sound."

"What the fuck is – ya know what, I don't give a shit," the younger Inuyasha snapped. "Why don't you _both_ leave?"

Kagome glared at Inuyasha in an attempt to shut him up, but it seemed his elder self and brother were waiting for just that moment. Sesshomaru stood up and picked up the briefcase.

"See, I told you I didn't need it," the older Inuyasha told his brother.

"This time," Sesshomaru countered.

Inuyasha kept arguing quietly as they left, and Kagome turned to face her Inuyasha. They both had looks of slight confusion and shock. Then Kagome burst out laughing.

Inuyasha just stared at her. "What's so damned funny!" he snapped.

She shook her head, not answering. If he missed the joke, then oh well.

He humphed and crossed his arms. At about that same moment, Kagome regained her self control, stopped laughing, and then heard her mother.

"Kagome," she said in her ever-calm and understanding tone, "I don't understand what just happened."

"It's better that way, Mama," Kagome replied, looking over at her mother. "Some of it would confuse you, some of it would worry you, and most of it you wouldn't be able to contemplate."

Mama nodded. "Something that needs to be experienced to be understood," she said simply.

Kagome nodded in return and stood up. "But I really need to talk to Inuyasha now, Mama. Just let us know when dinner is finished, if we're not down by then."

Having gotten her hint, Inuyasha took her by the wrist and together they went up the stairs to her room, while Mama agreed and headed about her daily tasks.

_** Sesshomaru's Mansion **_

"I cannot believe you went there without me," Sesshomaru said, putting the items in his briefcase away.

"I can," Inuyasha replied, plopping down in the biggest, softest chair in his brother's study. The chair happened to be Sesshomaru's.

Sesshomaru looked over at him, a thin bottle in his hand and poised in midair as he regarded his younger brother silently. After a few moments, he put the bottle where it belonged and crossed the room to his desk, rounded it, and stood right next to the relaxed Inuyasha, simply staring down at him.

Inuyasha grinned for a moment, then leaned back, shut his eyes, and crossed his ankles on the desk. He was still wearing those army boots of his, having refused to take them off when he entered the home. It was one of the many things he did to annoy Sesshomaru, very few of them actually being annoying enough to cause Sesshomaru to whack his little brother.

Like now.

"Ow, you damned. . !" Inuyasha rubbed his cheek and obligingly got out of the chair. "Geez, you could have _asked._"

"You would have said 'no'," Sesshomaru replied, sitting down, and moving his mouse so the computer woke up.

Inuyasha growled at him. "That's not the point."

"It will heal," Sesshomaru said carelessly.

"Is there a reason why you had me follow you in here?"

"Yes, in fact. Sit down while I bring it up."

Inuyasha huffed and paced the room over, looking at the books on the walls. He read each title on their binders as he waited, recognizing each and every one as a book he's previously read. At length he pulled out the book, "Crime and Punishment," and flipped to a random page. He'd barely read a paragraph when Sesshomaru began tapping his fingers on the desk.

Inuyasha looked up. "What. . ?"

"Come over here."

He rolled his eyes. Damn orders. He set the book down and rounded the desk to look at the computer. "Hey, it's the detective," he said, viewing a camera within a police station. As he watched, the detective Motsumoto paced around his office, brushing his hair away from his forehead every now and again. "Okay, why am I seeing this?"

"He has an unusually strong willpower," Sesshomaru said. "Our mind-altering demon is not powerful enough to erase his meeting with _you._"

"So?"

"So, you must take care of it."

"Keh, weakling," Inuyasha snorted, stepping away from the desk. "And how am I supposed to do that?"

"I have already set up an appointment with him to visit us. There, you two must talk, and convince him somehow that he shouldn't report you."

"He hasn't written it up yet?"

"He has, but has not delivered it."

"Good; shred it."

"My employees with the district cannot do that, Inuyasha."

"And what's the problem _this_ time?"

"Cameras and evidence, or have you not noticed? Detective Motsumoto must either deliver it or destroy it himself."

Inuyasha sighed. "Fine, and what am I going to say to the. . . guy?" he asked, barely stopping himself from swearing.

Sesshomaru closed the camera view and turned enough in his chair that he could see Inuyasha. "I'm afraid I can't type up a speech for you."

"Oh great, so you're leaving the whole thing to me?"

"Not entirely."

"Oh yeah? And what did **_you_** do?"

"Set up the appointment."

Inuyasha scoffed and left, leaving the book on the chair he'd been sitting in minutes before. He practically stalked him way up to his 'room', as servants and guests avoided him at every turn. They all knew by now that Inuyasha was more than a little unstable, and didn't talk to him unless he started the conversation. Cameras located everywhere in the mansion kept an eye on him to make sure that if he snapped, they'd know about it.

It wasn't pressure to make him be good, it was like watching over him for when he's bad. They weren't keeping him on a short leash, they were watching him for when he needs caging.

He couldn't help his smirk at the analogy. Wild dog, caging. He can be a good boy. He'll sit on the porch and watch for intruders. But if you didn't watch your step, he'd bite the hand that feeds him. It's pretty much how he's been since the day his mother died, but the difference is, now he's more likely to snap randomly.

For a moment, he wondered what his Kagome would say to that.

"Oh, Inuyasha," he could hear her voice, "you're just being silly."

He smiled. That's just like her. "I'm not being silly," he said aloud, having made it to his room at last.

"Oh yes you are," she would say. "If you weren't being silly, you wouldn't be smiling now."

His smile grew and he laughed lightly. "It's not me being silly," he denied his imagination. "Can I help it if you make me smile?"

She'd look at him with loving eyes then. "Inuyasha. . . how you sweeten your way through everything, I'll never know."

For a moment he grinned, but then the smile faded. He was talking to no one. He pressed his forehead to his window and stared out at the empty fields of grass. Kagome was gone now – at least _his_ Kagome was. He had to keep reminding himself of that. He sighed heavily.

Seeing her, and being held by her, had done him some good. The bad memories were out of reach at the moment, not that he'd go searching for them. He smiled remembering, though. He hadn't meant to end up with his head in her lap, but it had felt so nice, being touched by her again. He knew that she was still recovering and that putting any part of himself near that part of her was like suicide, but she hadn't reacted badly.

Which only made sense. He remembered clearly how she used to scream and thrash at first, and how in such a short time, he could touch her anywhere he dared and it wouldn't bother her. A truly amazing recovery, but just like Kagome to not let it keep her down – or at least, just like her to not let it keep them apart.

His smile remained as he thought about how he had ultimately saved her life, and that of their daughter's. Sure it had likely damned his soul, but did that matter?

_** The Meeting **_

Motsumoto looked more than a little uneasy when Inuyasha entered the room. The room itself was a kind of mimicked study, with books everywhere, a desk, a few chairs and a low table. Inuyasha sat across from Motsumoto, wondering yet again what he could say to the man. Somehow, _"I'm in a time paradox and killing those men saved my wife and daughter,"_ didn't sound too sane.

So he said, "You should just forget about it."

Motsumoto looked like he wanted to laugh and scream in one. He made a choking sound and shook his head, giving Inuyasha look that clearly meant the latter was insane. "Forget?" he echoed.

"Yeah," Inuyasha agreed. "Look, the whole thing is so complicated and intricate a mere human like yourself – while of the intelligent sort – wouldn't understand it. And even if you did, you'd never believe it. Or worse yet, you would believe it, and try to convince others, and end up stashed away in a mental institution until you were recruited."

"Recruited?" Motsumoto repeated. "Recruited by who?"

"Sesshomaru, maybe," Inuyasha replied. "Those who know things they shouldn't know are employed by us if they can't be made to forget."

Motsumoto was silent for a moment, his eyes showing guarded curiosity. And then he said, "There's more than just you." It was a clear statement, not a question.

Inuyasha nodded, knowing lies were pointless. "We all have civilizations, here and there around the world. We live with humans every day, milling in and out of their lives. . . You've seen us dozens of times, I'm sure. Some of the criminals you've chased who you just couldn't catch, but hear on the news one day is on death row. The person you always joke with while in line at the grocer's. The person at the bank who processes your checks." He leaned in close and added in a whisper, "Maybe even your best friend. We're very skilled at hiding, but could never hide from each other. It takes a very knowledgeable human to be able to pick us out."

Motsumoto was quiet for a long moment, seemingly thinking about it. Inuyasha's uneasiness grew as he saw plainly the determination in the other's eyes, saw it grow along with a new form of strength. The signs of a person who was accepting that the world was bigger, stranger, and far more dangerous than he ever thought possible, and was willing to be a big part of it.

Exactly as he'd expected, Motsumoto finally said, "Then I want in."

Inuyasha sat back and tossed a single card at Motsumoto. "There's five numbers on that card. They do five different things. Make no mistakes; this is a test for you. You only get one phone call. One chance. You need to use your instinct on which number to call. One is the number that will employ you with us. . . one will completely wipe your memory, all the way back to your first. . . the other three will put you in a trance for the rest of your days, so you'll never see anything supernatural again."

Motsumoto stared at the card for a long moment, turning it in the light, noticing how the numbers shined and glittered. He smiled and looked up, "I was going to get this from the beginning, wasn't I?"

"Company policy," Inuyasha replied easily.

Motsumoto looked down at the card again. "Probably a stupid question," he began, "but. . . this card. . . the numbers. . ?"

"The numbers change for every card, and are mixed."

"What happens if I toss the card and don't call?"

"We send a bull youkai to your apartment, who'll ram your door down, mess up the room, take you as a hostage, inject you with drugs that'll make it seem like you've been through hell and lost your mind, then play out a typical crime and punishment routine. You'll end up in an institution for the insane while the bull will get away scot-free, and spend the rest of your life claiming demons were real to anyone who will listen, and nobody would believe a word."

"How long do I have?" Motsumoto asked, taking the information easily and without surprise.

"Four days."

"And the report?"

"Can't send it in, of course."

"See you in five days."

_**:End Chapter:**_

OMG finally! I finished! I had NO inspiration for this chapter, none at all. x.x

Gomen nasai. But at least I finished.

UPDATE!

May 1st, at long friggin' last, I have a flight. I'll be going back to Illinois. Things I have there: EVERYTHING. Minus what I'll be keeping here for my upcoming college stint.

Ultimately, it goes like this. . . I failed school, mainly cause I didn't like it. DON'T FAIL SCHOOL. My god how I regret it. The point is, I took my GED. The second point is, I scored an overall of 586, which is a high B, really. I had to score 580+ to get a scholarship at the college I took my GED, so. . .

I have two free years of college awaiting me, starting this fall. My classes have been chosen. My schedule is made. Plans have been put together. I'm leaving all my winter clothes here, since I won't be needing them in Illinois.

Unfortunately, I don't know exactly what the situation is back in Illinois, so I can't come out and say, "See you next update," since I don't know the slightest bit what my internet access will be like. So far what I know is that my parents are living in Montgomery, near my dad's parents, which means near Tammy, which means near 24/7 free internet access.

If Tammy's house is as big a mess as how we left it. . . which is probably really a bigger mess after eight months. . . I have an incredible urge to go and clean it. Thoroughly. Give me Mr. Clean, scrubbing bubbles, bleach, and ACID for what I'm going to be doing.

. . .I hope I get paid for it, that's all I'm saying.

What I attempt to accomplish while there: Driver's license, some form of temporary job, at least a partial loss in that social disorder I have.

I fear meeting people in real life. What can I say? I'm a dreamer type. I sit and dream. And write. And draw. Which reminds me, go check out my gallery. I have some new stuff.

And the Scraps. Tons there. . . eh heh.

Last note: VOTE! What do you want Motsumoto to do? Will he call the right number? Will he lose his memories, enter a trance, or choose not to call at all? His adventures are now up to the readers and reviewers!

Ya know, for anyone who gives two shits about his future in this fic.

See ya!


	22. Healing Days

Kagome nodded in return and stood up. "But I really need to talk to Inuyasha now, Mama. Just let us know when dinner is finished, if we're not down by then."

Having gotten her hint, Inuyasha took her by the wrist and together they went up the stairs to her room, while Mama agreed and headed about her daily tasks.

****

Sesshomaru's Mansion

His smile remained as he thought about how he had ultimately saved her life, and that of their daughter's. Sure it had likely damned his soul, but did that matter?

****

The Meeting

"How long do I have?" Motsumoto asked, taking the information easily and without surprise.

"Four days."

"See you in five days."

**Fifty Three** We are winding down now. . . Kinda. . . Okay so maybe not. . . I'm just wingin' it here.

Motsumoto stared at the card for a long time, turning it over and over in his hands, reading the numbers time and again, to the point where he was certain he knew the numbers by heart, the shape of the card, the colors; every detail was etched into his memory. It had been three days, and will be the fourth day tomorrow at five. He had to make his decision soon.

As he'd been ordered, he shredded the report. Then, thinking about how he knew nothing of demons and their abilities, decided to take the shreds home, where he burned them in his oven. With all evidence destroyed, he wrote up a new report, using plausible excuses for everything. Saying that the lights went off, and on his way to the cell, he had been knocked out, and awoke minutes later to find Desyno headless.

They didn't know that the lights were already out, or anything else. Really, why it may not be a full-proof plan, it would work enough to satisfy just about everyone. Of course his team would ask questions, but then, he'd already worked out an explanation for them, and gave it just yesterday morning.

Report in, everyone sated, new life prepared; all he had left was to call the number. But which one? He'd been leaning towards the second number since he got it, but he had to be sure. In a situation like this, being unsure was suicide. Perhaps it wouldn't cause him death, but either way, it would cost his entire life.

He rather liked his life, thank you.

****

Inuyasha

At long last, they went back to Sengoku Jidai. It wasn't something they picked, but really, shards waited for no one. The crappy part was the day they chose, or rather, the night: he was sitting in a hut, with the rest of the group, one hundred percent human until sunrise.

And they couldn't stay gone for too long. There were so many things to do in Kagome's time still, mainly being that while reports had generally died down, they flared right up again when someone overheard Kagome telling him that the messages on the walls followed the order of her rape.

Which told him it was never a good idea to talk in public. Sure they were at WacDonald's, relatively quiet and safe, but as it turns out, Kagome was always being trailed by _somebody._ This time it happened to be a blabbermouth. Through some difficult maneuvering from Sesshomaru, and mind-altering demons, that particular chatterbox was made out to be a liar and he himself started doubting whether he heard the truth or made it up.

Really, having Sesshomaru keeping an eye out for them, or rather for Kagome, was extremely helpful, as Inuyasha's knowledge of Kagome's time was limited and frankly he liked punching people in the nose better than slapping them with lawsuits.

He still didn't understand that phrase, but Sesshomaru had used it, so it must be something really powerful. Sesshomaru never did _anything_ half-assed or halfway.

In three days plenty had happened that he was glad was over already. The day after his older self showed up, he walked Kagome to school as he always did, but hid away this time and watched her from a distance. And then a woman who matched Hojo's description began approaching Kagome from behind, a knife well-hidden but perfectly visible to his eyes in her hand.

Though he felt like beating the woman for even thinking such a thing, he felt it would be better if Kagome handled it, so instead he just kept following.

Though the girl cornered Kagome at the lunch break on the roof, it was nothing Kagome couldn't handle. Inuyasha had stayed hidden and watched in satisfaction as Kagome took the girl right down, not with fists or arrows, but with clever words.

****

Confrontment

"What do you want?" Kagome asked, trying not to sound rude or impatient. Really, she didn't come here to deal with schoolgirls; she was on the roof to be with Inuyasha for lunch. This girl was obviously the one Hojo had mentioned, made apparent by the fact that not only did she look as he'd described, but she was wearing a school uniform different from the school's.

"Why can't you just stay out of the spotlight for once?" the girl sneered angrily, and pulled out her knife, holding it menacingly in front of her.

"I didn't choose to have a spotlight on me," Kagome returned, disregarding the blade. "I didn't ask for news coverage or anything like that."

"So young, so pure," the girl was drawling, "a virgin robbed of her innocence and scarred for life. What a load of shit. You liked it, didn't you?" she finished, all but shouting.

Kagome waited for her to finish. "If there's one thing you need to experience to understand, it's your own ability to cope and recover. I didn't know, either, that I'd get over it so easily. But I suppose that's what happens naturally when the person you love is always there for you."

The girl screamed at her and spun in a circle, making it seem like she was mad -- or maybe she was. "You're crazy!" she snapped. "Crazy Kagome; that's what they should call you! How can you even claim to be okay! Don't you get it! You're not the only one they hurt, but you're the only one they showed on TV!"

Kagome straightened as the girl's implication hit her. "So they raped you, too."

The girl gave a sob, clinging to her knife like a lifeline, and shook her head sharply. "Mama says they did something so bad I blocked most of it out. The doctors say a part of my mind broke. That's why I didn't get on TV. They don't want to show a mentally deranged girl!"

The danger of the situation increased dramatically, but Kagome had never felt so calm before, so empathetic. She took a step towards the girl. "What's your name?"

The girl sniffed. "Why do you want to know?"

"Maybe if you tell me, I can help you. If it's really what you want, I can get you TV time. Is that all you want?"

She shook her head. "No! No no no! Mama says -- TV is bad for me --"

"Then why are you so jealous?" Kagome asked sharply, taking another step closer.

"I'm not! You don't -- !" She took a step back. "You don't understand! It's not fair! You're okay! I'm not! Everybody loves you, a little martyr, but nobody sees me! I'm invisible! I was hurt so much worse and nobody wants to help me or-or-or -- or even _look_ at me!" she cried, tears finally falling.

Kagome rushed to her as the girl fell, and held her instinctively, knocking the knife away as much for the girl's protection as her own. And as she rocked the girl and tried speaking useless words of comfort, she realized just how young the girl was. She couldn't be even fourteen.

Sometime later the bell rang, and Kagome stood up, petting the girl's hair one more time. "Listen, I have to go to class. But my, ah, beloved is up here. Maybe you can talk to him. He's the one who healed me."

The girl looked up as Kagome headed for the stairs, then yelled out, "Hisaka! My name's Hisaka!"

Kagome paused to look back, her hand on the door handle. "Hisaka-san, then. Try to be nice, Inuyasha."

"Keh."

****

Inuyasha

So he'd obeyed, more or less, and talked to Hisaka for around half an hour. At first he was hoping that making connections between the rapes might help, which as it turned out was the dumbest choice as she tried to yank his hair out, and then he chose to quote Dr. Lanes.

And she'd listened and replied, calming until eventually she'd smiled at him and said, "Is this all you do, heal?"

Against his strongest blocks and masks, he'd blushed at that. _Not really, no,_ he'd thought. But instead he'd replied, "To those who need it, I guess."

When he retold the conversation to Kagome and her mother, he'd been very smart about leaving that part _out._ The girl would have fawned all over him about how sweet he was for that, and by the gods he didn't need _another_ reason for her to embarrass him regularly. He had a reputation, dammit!

Sure he had no problem cuddling Kagome when she wanted or needed it, considering they weren't in full view of people. In the off chance that they were, he was always careful of keeping a mask in place so nobody was the wiser about how it affected him.

He _liked_ it that way.

Now if only Kagome would just give him the all-okay so he could kiss her like she'd written in her story and then follow the pointers she described for the rest of the night. . . But no. He was getting ahead of himself, and it was arousing him in front of the rest of the group.

Of course, being both observant and perverted, Miroku noticed immediately, but pointedly looked away with merely a knowing glance at Inuyasha. Inuyasha felt like hurting the monk for that, but unfortunately, doing so would require an explanation and any refusal to give one on his part would only make the females more persistent. One female he could deal with, but when Sango and Kagome joined together for a cause. . .

Suffice it to say it was difficult to get out of a situation like that. Truthfully, Inuyasha had never gotten away scot-free and he didn't see himself getting out of any anytime soon. The closest thing to Miroku getting away free was when his raccoon-dog pal 'transformed' into another Miroku and mixed each other up.

It had taken Sango a short while to get the two of them to pay for that one, but man did they learn their lessons. More pointedly Miroku paid, but then, Sango was always but _always_ more severe with the monk. 'Love fights', Kagome called it.

He glanced at Kagome now as she helped Sango and Kaede with dinner. She was adding seasonings from her time, which Inuyasha learned quickly could make ramen even _better._ He kept his hands away from the pot, though; last time he tried to sample dinner he got three handprints to the face.

Miroku had laughed after that, for as long as it took Inuyasha to catch and pummel him. The kit had laughed as well, but hid with Kagome so Inuyasha couldn't touch the little brat. Sango said it had 'served him right', while Kaede informed him it was a lesson and Kagome's eyes promised a make-up fight later.

Inuyasha smirked just now, repeating the phrase in his mind. _Make-up fight._ That fit them only too well, didn't it? Always ending up in a fight, no matter what they did. But as long as they were fighting, everything was normal between them. Sure the changes of late had changed them as well, but really, it was only so much of an alter.

They still fought, though now it was done with a light air and open forgiveness for every word and action before, during, and after. It was play-fights, even though they got pretty heated at times. Ah, but the heat of the fights sometimes -- their biggest fight was, as always, the one from so long ago when Kagome was just freed from Kouga's clan.

He still didn't get why she just _had_ to let the wolf escape, and he still wondered what happened while she was under his hold, but since she didn't cling to him like no tomorrow, it couldn't have been anything bad. And something Kouga told her had to have softened her to his cause, and as Kagome just was, it meant Kouga wasn't as bad as he'd seemed at first.

Perhaps he had been, but Kagome just changes people, usually for the better. She changed Inuyasha, so much so that he hardly recognized himself at times. She made people just realize the real weight of life, the insatiable need to protect it, the value of every soul and its container; Kagome was, in a word, ethereal.

No other woman, save Midoriko, could ever top her heart. He had to wonder now, as he thought about it, if she was in fact Midoriko. It was certainly possible; the Shikon no Tama did strange things to people, both good and bad.

What's to say that the reason why Kagome was stronger than Kikyo was because she was, in fact, a mixture of souls rather than one? The Shikon no Tama had burned with Kikyo's body and returned in Kagome's. Even if the souls didn't mix upon conception or birth, her life of near-endless kindness would have certainly drawn out Midoriko's enough that the two could have joined.

It made sense, in an odd sort of way.

Kikyo could sense the shards, as every priestess of power could; but Kagome seemingly had a connection with it. Could Kikyo have resisted the tainted Shikon shards when Kagome had? Poisoned and cursed, the shards themselves had nearly taken over Kagome, but in the end, not even tainted shards could match her will.

No. Kikyo couldn't have resisted the tainted shards with willpower alone. That time. . . Kagome hadn't been trying to purify the shards, she had been completely _defying_ them. Kikyo would have tried to purify them, and she certainly could have; but Kikyo simply didn't have Kagome's will.

. . .Or was it, Midoriko's will? Both?

If this was true, if Kagome's soul had merged even partially with Midoriko's, then it was no surprise that she became so strong in such a short time. Surpassed Kikyo, maybe not in wisdom or tactic, but yes in power, in caring and will. Perhaps it had been part of how Kagome was raised that added to her willpower and caring, but ultimately, Inuyasha could clearly see that most of Kagome's advances -- if not all -- were done because she chose to.

That kind of person, his mind offered up. _Kagome is simply that kind of person._

his mind offered up. 

He grinned, watching her even as she looked at him, blushed, and told him to eat dinner or he'd get none.

****

Elder Inuyasha

He shivered.

Meeting Kagome had done something to him, had put a large part of his mind and soul at rest. But meeting his younger self had put a strain on his mind and soul as well. Not the kind that bombarded you with painful, unending thoughts, but with a connection he could feel as clearly as the clothes on his back.

It had strengthened this night, the New Moon. Before he could feel his younger self's own feelings, though it was slight. Tonight, it was so much stronger. He could hear his own thoughts repeated, and felt nostalgia as his own feelings joined with his younger self's own.

Kagome vs. Kikyo vs. Midoriko. That's what it came down to. He remembered thinking about it, about how Kagome seemed limitlessly stronger than both women, with characteristics from each that aided her without taking away from her own independent being, or overwhelming those who knew her.

Why did he think these things?

Probably, it was fate. Fate told him to realize it, for it was true; future battles of which they could hardly imagine proved this. It was this realization alone that taught him to let go of her, to allow her to continue to grow, to the point where it wasn't _him_ protecting _her_ as much as it was him _aiding_ her.

Kagome was greater than any demon, kinder than any angel, as powerful as any god and as merciful as the heavens themselves. Had they asked, any of the truly evil demons they'd fought would have lived, by simply asking of her forgiveness and pledging to help atone for what they'd done.

She would have let them live, because it wasn't in her to take a life that didn't want to go, or had no reason to go. In the end, all you had to do was ask with sincerity that she not kill you, and she wouldn't. It was a fault at times -- really, she could always be double-crossed or sucked into a scheme for it -- but in the end, even a double-cross couldn't kill her.

No. . . it took three men after her, while she was weakened from carrying a child, with no ability to climb out of the well herself, apart from himself and her bow. It took the vilest of mankind to kill a being so perfect you'd think she was invincible, immortal, and eternal.

He shut his eyes on the thoughts. Staring at the ceiling was doing him no good, and these thoughts were wrecking him yet again. He needed a distraction, and fast, before he started trying to tear pieces of himself out to lessen the inevitable pain --

"Inuyasha."

He opened his eyes. Well shit. He must've been so entrapped by his own thoughts, he hadn't noticed Sesshomaru's entrance.

"Hey, nii. What do you want?" he replied sourly.

"Motsumoto called the correct number."

"Did he?"

"You didn't hint, did you?"

"I told him to use his instincts."

"But did you hint?"

"Not for a nanosecond," he sighed, sitting up and turning to face his brother. "Besides," he added, "_I_ don't know the number."

"Point taken." Sesshomaru took scope of the room before sitting down, placing the two of them almost knee-to-knee.

"So what are you still doing here?"

"Wondering a bit."

"About what?" Inuyasha asked, yawning behind his hand.

"Why you seem to refuse to take a bigger part of life."

"And what does _that_ mean?"

Sesshomaru sighed, and Inuyasha just knew this would be a repeat of some conversation they'd had before. "Think for a moment," Sesshomaru began, and immediately Inuyasha knew this was going to take a while.

"About what?"

"If you wouldn't interrupt, you'd know by now," Sesshomaru replied. "It was your idea, was it not, to enlist a rule upon all demons to let other hanyous live?"

"Getting to the point. . ?"

"You know very well they all banded together to support one another, and you know even better each of these hanyous over two hundred owe _you_ their lives. You know they made a no-questions-asked organization and asked you to lead them. You're the oldest living hanyou; why can't you simply lead the younger ones?"

"Like the way you lead your brood and your corporation?"

"I led the entire West Lands for near five centuries; I've led my 'brood' for four centuries, and my corporation for three. There was a time I was leading all three. Surely a hanyou with more than half my abilities could lead a country's worth of hanyous through the centuries."

"You talk a lot."

"I'm making up for lost time and your lack of speaking," Sesshomaru bit out. "And your attitude is testing an old man's patience. Don't make me scar you again."

"I'm un-scar-able," Inuyasha pointed out.

"I will do it if I must."

"If I can completely control the demon in my blood to the point where I don't need Tessaiga to hold it back, what chance do you have of scarring my body when I can't even bruise anymore?"

"Bullets still hurt. Imagine for a moment if I shot you, and from there dripped poison in the wound."

"That's nothing," Inuyasha hissed. "I've felt _real_ pain."

Sesshomaru was quiet then, because he knew he'd struck a blow or he knew Inuyasha had to have a moment, Inuyasha didn't know, but he was grateful all the same.

Shaking his head, Inuyasha finally replied to the real issue. "I'm no leader anymore. I can't lead without her."

"You led her," Sesshomaru out.

"On quests, maybe, but I never led _her._ She led _me,_ Sesshomaru-nii. . . Don't. . .don't ever get that confused." He was looking away now, at a single bit of carpet that was interesting solely because it was a shade lighter than the patch it occupied.

There was a long pause from both then, as Inuyasha stared at the carpet and Sesshomaru stared at Inuyasha's human ear. The silence that stretched out between them was strained with everything they'd said to each other before, and everything they'd held back, everything they hadn't said when they had to.

"And so she led you," Sesshomaru finally began, slowly, "yet you never learned from her how to lead others?"

He shivered again. He could hear several voices now, all mental, some of his own, some of Kagome's, some of his younger self's and some of Sesshomaru. All the things said were muddled and unnatural, blending together and making every word unintelligible. And then, above all, Miroku's voice, saying the only thing the monk had said which had enough value to strike everyone who had heard it, for the simple fact that it was undeniably true:

"Gods are all around us, leading us where we need to be. Sometimes they take the form of signs, but in some special cases, they take the form of humans or demons -- Kagome. Your endless wisdom taps my own out; it has to be that of a God."

"Kagome was a God," he said simply to Sesshomaru. "I could have never led anyone as well as she could, no matter how long I knew her, how much I learned, if she cataloged everything she did and the reasons why and I studied those for all of my life."

Sesshomaru stood up without another word and left the room, quietly shutting the door behind him. Inuyasha was left with his thoughts, blending with his younger self's inner admission that Kagome could arouse him with a look when she wanted to.

The meshing of their thoughts brought a smile to his face even as his heart ached. Man, when was he going to just _die?_ This time paradox was confusing and difficult enough.

**_Hojo _**

Just clicking a remote at a cable TV was so boring, but until the full use of his arm came back, he couldn't even write straight. So much for homework or helping out. Luckily plenty of girls were willing to help, making him fully realize exactly how he'd acted around Kagome for so long. Sure most of the time she admitted her 'illnesses' hadn't been illnesses at all, but he'd showered her with get-well gifts and charms anyway.

Exactly like how that pack of females were doing to him, except that they had sheer numbers in their favor. In two days he had roughly the amount of gifts that he'd given to Kagome over two years.

Someone knocked and he watched his mother open her door and invite in the visitors after a moment's chat. He sat up quick when he saw who it was, and stood up sharply, sending a twinge of pain down his arm.

"What are you. . ?" he started, unable to finish.

A sheepish redhead toed the floor, a police officer at her one side, and a well-dressed man at her other side. The girl that had attacked Kagome and himself -- what was she doing here?

"I'm very sorry," she started, in a tiny voice. She hadn't looked up yet.

The well-dressed man cleared his throat.

She looked up at the man, then over at Hojo and bowed respectively. "I'm really very sorry," she tried again, then righted herself. "I, um. . . I got jealous of Kagome-san because everyone felt bad for her. I didn't mean to take it out on you."

Taken aback, he looked at his mother, then the officer and the other man.

Making introductions, the man said the girl was Kyone Hisaka, his daughter. Hojo could tell the man was holding something back as he explained the situation, but didn't ask about it. He hurriedly bowed when the Kyone man and his daughter did, and then the three of them were gone and Hojo stared instead at his mother.

She was reading a letter that Hojo hadn't seen, and then she handed it to him. As he read, he understood. Written down was that Hisaka had been a 'victim' of the same criminals who'd hurt Kagome, though it didn't say in what way. Explained here was Hisaka's mental instability and her profuse apologies, along with a check to cover his hospital bills and extra -- the 'extra' bit referred to blatantly as 'hush money' to keep Hisaka's problems a secret.

When he looked up, his mother said, "Look on the other side of the letter."

Other side? He flipped it over and saw that someone had hand-written on the other side at some point.

Hojo-san,

Please don't report to anyone about my troubles. It's a kind of family secret, and with how important my father is, people could use that knowledge to harm me and make my family suffer. I can't say how sorry I am, but now that my parents have explained the whole situation to me, I understand why they kept me out of the media.

I hope we can meet another time so I can try to make up for what I did to you.

Kyone Hisaka

That didn't explain much more than the other side of the letter, but somehow, it made him feel a little better. So the girl at least understands everything now. And it did explain, mostly, why she felt the need to hurt Kagome and why she snapped and attacked him.

At least he hoped she got better. He felt really bad for her now, knowing that she'd been dealt a bad hand by the same men who'd hurt Kagome so badly. He looked up at his mother. "What are we going to do about the money they gave us?"

"Pay the bills, of course," she replied. "But of the rest. . . We'll give most of the extra back, but keep a bit in case we need it."

"Isn't that kind of wrong. . ?"

"Of course not. You have to look at it from their point of view, too; it would be an insult to refuse all of the money, even if it's more than you need. Around a fifth or a fourth of the total extra should suffice well."

Even as she'd said it, she'd been signing the checks. Hojo shook his head at her, folded up the letter with a little difficulty, and took it upstairs to his room. In truth his mother was a bit greedy, and really protective of the money she had. Hojo himself wouldn't have been able to give anyone anything if he hadn't taken a job and started saving; now that he had a stable work week (though at the moment it was on hiatus) he had income and his income was kept away from his mother at all costs.

He had to chuckle at his own thoughts. Keeping money away. . .at all costs. Too bad he hadn't spoken that one aloud.

****

:End Chapter:

Promised to keep updating, now didn't I?

If you're wondering about the 'future battles' that proves Kagome as a kind of mixed-soul Midoriko god who leads, you can just stop. I have no intentions of making an enemy up just to pull out everyone's strength reserves and explain in battle what I explained in words.

Though it would be cool, huh?

Still keeping my eyes out for contest-goers. Granted I can't exactly check as I type this (haha, laugh at the poor computer-but-no-internet authoress, you no-good hairless wookies), but I'm hoping people are responding.

What I didn't mention in the contest note that I should have is that otaku outfits count as entries. You can dress up as your favorite character, or whichever one you think my fave is (good luck guessing!) and it'll be accepted. Hell, it could just be make-up and a wig, and it'd work.

Until next update. **_:Bows and gracefully exits:_**


	23. A Deal Made

_**Changing Lives**_

_**Fifty Four**_

They spent almost a week in Inuyasha's time, hunting shards tirelessly. Considering the huge amount of energy they were used to expelling, versus the lack of anything useful to do for a long time, Kagome was sure they all could have gone without sleep that whole week, and _still_ have accomplished everything they had.

Kagome had tried something new in locating the shards: strengthening all her powers as much as she could, then spreading her awareness out in every direction, as far as it would go. With a makeshift map of the area next to her, she marked all the pleaces she's felt a shard – almost a dozen in a three mile radius. Then they went off and began finding them, taking the shards if they could without having to kill, per Kagome's request.

A whole lot of demons looked at her funny for sparing them, and she gave them no reply except for a, "You're still alive, aren't you?" She got an odd feeling from most of them afterwards, like they saw humans – or perhaps just her – in a whole new light.

One of them followed her all the way back to the village. A tiny girl to be sure, who could change herself into a Kirara-sized puppy that was almost as adorable as Inuyasha's ears. She'd found the shard by chance, but she hadn't used it; she'd been holding onto it because she didn't know what to do with it.

Her name was Kyou and she wasn't about to leave anytime soon, perhaps because she found Shippou to be the singularly most handsome boy her size. She hadn't said that in exact words, but she kept blushing every time she got near and mumbled, poking her fingertips together shyly.

She had black hair with a silver stripe, almost falling to her ankles, and mixed eyes: one strikingly blue, one dark brown. She was no bigger than Shippou was, but that made them all the more cute in Kagome's eyes.

She teased Shippou a few times, lightly, and every single time he blushed as well, and Inuyasha cackled every time he caught her doing it.

Then later, when they went to bathe, there was a huge amount of red skin before anyone had gotten in. Kyou had come with them, being female, but she hadn't expected Shippou to come along. Shippou told her that it was better to be with Sango and Kagome than Inuyasha and Miroku, because neither woman would ever punch him in the head, but the two of them had undressed on opposite sides of the onsen and gotten in without looking up.

Kyou stayed more near Sango, and Shippou stayed almost hidden beside Kagome. Though neither woman made any teasing jabs, they exchanged humourous glances every few minutes and gestured the two pups.

Cute as she was, Kagome had to wonder where her parents were – if she had them. So she asked Kyou, but she wasn't prepared for the answer.

Kyou had said, "My parents are both dead. They were different breeds, which is only okay to both their packs as long as they didn't have pups. Shortly after I was born, both packs came together to kill them. They ran, but only it so far for so long." She pulled a fan from her obi, an adult-sized, elegant fan that was almost as tall as she was. "This was mother's, and her favorite. She made sure to hide it where I would know to find it. You can see that I'm a mutt fro my eyes, so it was always difficult to live, hiding from hole to hole. . ." Then she smiled. "Then I found the shard, and you found me."

Kagome was both saddened by Kyou's story, finding that Inuyasha's prejudice at being different was for more common than she'd realized, and touched by Kyou's assurity that her life was looking up, just by being found by their little group – and accepted, as well.

So Kagome gave in and hugged Kyou close, and her absolutely sang when Kyou hugged back, snuggling into her. Being viewed by everyone in their group invoked more than a few coos at how cute the scene was, and later on, Inuyasha had commented on how 'at home' she seemed around children.

Whin in turn made her blush.

At the end of the week, when Kagome headed back to her own time, Inuyasha had remained behind, saying he would catch up in a day. He didn't tell her why, but his eyes said that she was going to like it. So she'd left easily enough, even as she was leaving her big, cuddly, sweet security blanket five centuries in the past

Not half a day into her return, and she was visited by none other than Sesshomaru. Upon being in his presence, she was reminded again that he seemed entirely different from his younger self. There was no tension of fear running through her when she saw him, no feeling of inferiority when he was near. And he himself looked and sounded much more relaxed.

"Kagome," he greeted with a nob.

Kagome made a little bow in return. "Uh, hello, Sesshomaru-sama. I'm a little surprised that you're back."

"You don't have to refer to me so formally," he replied off-handedly. Continuing, he took a seat and jumped right in. "I want you to speak to Inuyasha."

She wasn't sure exactly how, but she knew which one he was referring to – probably from sheer logic. Nodding, she said, "Why?"

For a moment, he looked like he wasn't sure how to explain. He wet his lips before going on. "You should know by now how unstable he is. He's had five centuries to waste away, and now I believe he's not going to actively work on staving alive anymore. He believes that because you're safe, he can die."

Funny how badly that frightened her, when she knew that he and her Inuyasha were different, but honestly she couldn't help but love both. She didn't know the elder one very well, really, with how opposite they appeared to be, yet she felt as though she would be greatly hurt if she learned he'd died.

And so she said, "What do you need me to do?"

_** Mansion **_

Inuyasha had been berated several times over the past week, and slapped a few times like it would help. Not for the first time, Sesshomaru looked almost tortured at the thought of someone from his family dying. In the end, Inuyasha was nearly closer to Sesshomaru than anyone else, even his demon wife who had reminded him how to love. Because, of them all, Inuyasha had been there the longest; Inuyasha had helped without question of return more than anyone else; and Inuyasha had taught him – indirectly – that blood brothers were closer than you'd think, even if it was just half-blood.

But what else could he do? Inuyasha had no reason left to be alive. Kagome was going to live on, and their daughter, no matter what. He'd done his part, focused on living for five centuries beyond what he'd wanted.

He rarely got dressed these days, never left his room of his own choice – minus the day he greeted Mostumoto into their odd organization, being that he'd given Motsumoto the card, he'd been required to stay long enough to welcome the officer.

Just laying there, face-down today, did little more than give him carpet stains and patterns on his skin. They were interesting decorations in his opinion, for as long as they lasted. His mind drifted more than usual now that he accepted his coming death, floating over past memories from a time that seemed so much simpler, where your life was what you made it, where friends never betrayed you, where family was such a close-knit bond of blood and friends, that no one could sever it, and vengeance lasted as long as the person who wronged you and not a second more.

Mostly, his thoughts lingered on his Kagome, and though these memories brought the never-ending pain of her death, he was soothed knowing he would see her very soon. There were times in the past, he was sure, when he'd literally felt her presence, but at the time he was so distraught that he couldn't tell if it was her spirit comforting him or his own delusions.

After so long, he knew when she was around, knew when she was trying to push him on or hold him back. At times, he could almost smell her again. . . like now. . .

His eyes snapped open. _That's not a delusion. She's here?_ He started to sit up, brushed certain parts of his anatomy on the rough carpet, and remembered his nudity. Scrambling, he grabbed a pair of pants from out of his wardrobe and stuffed his legs inside. He spun and headed for the door at almost the same time that it opened.

Knowing who was behind that door didn't stop him from being completely stunned by it.

"Hello," Kagome greeted him. He didn't miss her quick glance at his still-nude chest and the light blush that touched her cheeks from it. He was a little surprised, however, that she smiled not a second later.

With his tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth and his jaw muscles frozen in place, he couldn't say a word, but neither could he think of anything to say.

After a long pause, Kagome looked up again and cleared her throat, then looked around the room. It was an uncomfortable silence, perhaps made the worse by Inuyasha's inability to move even the slightest bit. As he watched her, she scratched at her ear and gazed over at him.

"I. . .That is. . . Are you going to say anything?" she blurted out.

"Good to see you," he managed automatically. "Do you want some tea?" He mentally swore. "I don't have any tea. Wait, I have maids. Kagome –"

She was giggling.

"What's so funny?" he asked, though he felt himself chuckling too.

"You are," she laughed. Stepping into the room, she shut the door behind her.

Inuyasha's mood immediately soured. He frowned. "That's not a good idea," he warned her.

"And why is that?" she asked, sounding confused though her eyes didn't show it.

"I might. . . go off the handle," he tried. "Then you could get hurt, or. . . I don't want to say it," he mumbled, looking away, at that patch of carpet he'd found some days ago.

"Afraid of raping me, Inuyasha?"

He shuddered, squeezing his eyes shut and clenching his fists. He couldn't envision ever hurting her or scaring her, but that didn't mean he wasn't capable of it. "Let's not find out," he said, roughly. Turning from her, he went to his window and stared out.

It was open. It was always open. He never closed his window. A cool breeze flowed in the moment he stood there, an invisible hand brushing his shoulder. He tried to find something of interest out there to look at. Not much beyond the grounds, really.

"You shouldn't be," Kagome said now, her voice much nearer to him. He knew she'd moved closer. When she was around, he always knew exactly where she was and what she was doing. Five centuries of parting hadn't dimmed that even a scratch.

"You shouldn't be this close to me," he told her. His emotions were confusing him again. Soothing; it was soothing, knowing he was going to die, but it was so much more for her to be around him. At the same time, it couldn't hurt worse; this wasn't _his_ Kagome, he had no claim over her in the least. Yet she was here, she was close, she smelled good, and she still loved him.

Her eyes told him that the moment the door opened.

"I'm not scared," she replied, moving to sit on the window sill. What was she doing? Didn't she know the temptation rose when he could see her?

He turned away. "You really don't get it," he bit out.

"Then why don't you tell me?"

He stopped dead in his tracks. She wanted to know, did she? An odd, unwanted anger rose in him. _What do you know?_ his mind snapped. He turned towards her again. She hadn't slipped off the sill yet. "You don't know," he started, beating the anger down. She was ignorant. Ignorance requires teaching. He had to teach her _why._ "_My _Kagome was a little bit different from you. Because she was older, grown-up. You don't know what it was like for me, having someone who loved me like she did – like she _does –_ and knowing she was willing to share everything with me, including her body."

"Oh," Kagome said. "But that's not all of it, was it?"

He looked away, sharply, and didn't know why he was still talking. "I always had to hold back, you know. Whenever we made love. I could never let go of myself; it would have hurt her, if not killed her. After all this time, of nothing, when before I had her almost literally whenever I asked. . . it's like petting a puppy until it's satisfied every day until it became a big dog, then replacing all the pets with beatings. It'll crave those pets so much, it'll be driven mad, and end up biting the one who used to pet it, even if that person wasn't the one who beat it."

Why couldn't he look up now? Maybe he was afraid of the way she was looking at him, the way she might look at him. . . was she even looking at him? He didn't want to check. At least she was still on the sill.

". . .Oh." She took a deep breath. "Inuyasha, that aside, I'm here because. . ." she trailed off.

He knew why she was here. "It couldn't have been for sex," he bit out. "You have an untrained puppy for that."

She gasped. He kicked himself.

Looking up, he saw the shock in her face and eyes, and wanted to tear himself apart. That wasn't the smartest thing to say. "I'm sorry. Sesshomaru sent you. He does that."

"He asked me to come, yes," she replied, shaking her head. "But he wanted me to convince you to live until your last days. I have another request. . ."

He turned his back to her and sat down. He hoped she got the idea. He didn't want to open his mouth and say something he'd regret again, so he kept silent. Maybe she would take the hint and leave. She always knew how to read him, after all.

He heard her move. He heard her come closer. He hoped she was heading for the door. But she stopped behind him and he grit his teeth. _Don't touch me,_ he mentally begged. _I don't know what I'd do._

Her hands touched his shoulders. Pain exploded in his chest, followed by an odd comfort and latent desire. _Dammit,_ why she couldn't she just go before he hurt her!

"I want you to stick around for another three years, Inuyasha. Just that."

He exhaled roughly. "I won't last another month."

"Three years, so you. . . so. . ." She took a deep breath. "You said we were going to have a baby. I'm going to get pregnant."

His breath stopped. Yes, so that was true. He wished really hard right then that she wasn't going to say what he _thought_ she was going to say.

"I know from how you said it, that it really hurt you that you never got to see the baby girl alive."

Dear kami-sama, she _wasn't_ going to say it. . . !

"Will you stay just long enough to see her born, and to hold her?"

That was it. He sobbed hard, dropping his face into his hands. Was Kagome really this devious? Playing on his dead child's life like that, dangling her in front of him like a treat? He leaned over and felt Kagome try to wrap herself around him as best she could. He wanted to tell her to stop, but he couldn't; he was gasping and sobbing too much.

_His daughter._ Three years, if that. Three years to see his baby girl, to hear her breath, know her scent, to feel her weight in his arms. Kagome was babbling some useless words of comfort to him, but for once he couldn't hear her. His mind had inverted, almost collapsed, really.

Finally, he found his voice and calmed his breathing enough to gasp out, "Don't you _dare_ use her as leverage!"

Kagome caught her breath beside him. She replied in a shaky voice, "I thought you'd want that before you died. . . Was I wrong to hope for you?"

There was that sweet Kagome he remembered. She was putting him before her. The baby girl would probably be immensely confused at her father's scent compared to his own, yet still, Kagome was willing to let him see her. . . alive.

_Before_ he saw her dead.

Kagome knew she hit his soft spot before she'd even said the words, he was sure. Even so, he couldn't turn his back on her offer. However, her scent was awakening parts of him that had remained asleep – almost dead – for five hundred years. If she didn't leave soon. . . Hell, with how old Sesshomaru was getting, not even _he_ would likely get here fast enough to stop him.

Catching his breath and controlling himself as best he could, he sat up and looked at Kagome. "Three years," he told her.

Kagome's face split into the brightest smile he'd ever seen, and it shone in his mind like a sun. She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. His body just about moved by itself, but he contented himself with holding her close.

This time, he cried silent tears, swallowing a lump in his throat. Kagome's breath was tickling the hair at the back of his neck as she laughed, and it was just as arousing as it was painful. _Not my Kagome,_ he reminded himself, repeatedly. _She's not **mine.** She's **his.** Not mine._

"Thank you," she said, drawing back.

With her eyes shining like they were, she looked as young as she was again – something he had nearly forgotten she could do. This Kagome was no adult, neither in body nor spirit, and that alone kept him from kissing her. He would love to kiss her again, but no, he needed permission for that.

It seemed Kagome was making her own permission, because she kissed _him_, her lips as warm as he remembered as she pressed them to his own. Beginning to lose his control from this, he blinked, and focused on the tear that he felt slide down his cheek. By the time it reached his chin, she had drawn back from him.

"I hope," she was saying, "that this won't be the last time I see you before her birth."

"Okay," was the only thing he could say. He was staring so intensely into her eyes that when she got up at left, his eyes hadn't changed direction. A few moments later, his lip began trembling and his eyes filled again.

Her scent was everywhere in his room now.

. . .Would it last three years?

:**_End Chapter:_**

I'm so incredibly disappointed right now.

Maybe you guys don't understand why I started that contest, and maybe a whole bunch more don't stick around to read the end notes I leave, or my note chapters. So maybe I'll explain.

**There was a hidden agenda behind that contest.**

Put simply, every contest ever created was based on ideas and creativity. The contestants had to try and be smarter than the rest, usually more colorful, and try to make the best win they could. This even counts for sports contests, if you think about it like I do.

When I started the contest, it wasn't because I was trying to gloat. I know Transformations has lots of fans. I know Changing Lives has lots as well. I know New Age likely has more than both. I don't need a contest to prove that.

I added the contest to try and see how many of _YOU_ are creative as well.

I know I'm creative. I'm resourceful. I'm clever. I keep trying. My dream of drawing for the rest of my life, animating, making comics, and writing; I've been following it so long there's little else I know how to do anymore. Been going on for almost a full decade.

I try to incorporate all the creativity I can in everything I do. This fic, the one before it, all the twists, all my fics together, all of my artwork; I think so hard before I make them to try and make them perfect.

'Perfect' doesn't just satisfy ME. If that was true, I wouldn't write or draw at all. I wouldn't need to, with my imagination.

'Perfect' is meant to satisfy **_YOU._**

'Perfect' is meant to inspire **_YOU._**

'Perfect' is meant to make **_YOU_** as creative as I am.

It saddens me, you know. I get emails pretty often from people who are in love with my fics. Although I rarely, if ever, make mistakes in my chapters, the emails I get are from people who disregard my attention to detail and half-spell the things they say.

Maybe I'm too much of a perfectionist, but think of this way. . .

You've just won a contest for being the best of the best. And a person comes up to you, who has seen or listened to or watched your greatest achievement, and they say how much they loved it and admire you.

Now imagine they try to do what you did, and fail so miserably that you can't stand to watch anymore.

That failing was a lack of effort, a lack of will, despite how much they admired what you do.

Now imagine you had dozens of these fans, and only a select few put forth the effort to try to not offend you. That effort would make you smile, right? Someone is _trying,_ for your sake, because they truly like what you do.

Don't talk to me in leet. For one, I can't read it worth a damn. For two, when I do read it, it sounds in my head like a retarded child with no teeth and half a tongue trying to say a tongue twister while gargling. For three, it's depressing.

I talk to you like this, don't I? Everyone who's emailed me can vouch for me. I almost never typo, and never use leet or abbreviations for words that shouldn't be abbreviated. I shall give you an example. . .

Me: "It's good to hear from you. Been a while now, hasn't it? How have you been?"

Me if I spoke like most of my fans: "its good to here from u bean a whil, hasnt it, howve you bean"

So sad, so heartbreaking. This isn't just laziness shown here. This is murder of the English language. It's like trying to talk to someone who doesn't even know full English, but on _their_ behalf, they started out knowing a _different_ language.

Which brings me to another point that bothers me. All the immigrants around here who seem to refuse to learn the language of our country. (USA, that is.)

I'm not complaining about there _being_ immigrants, mind you. It just seems really rude and disrespectful to move to another country with every intention of staying there your entire life, and never learning the language therein.

I wouldn't go to Italy, meaning to spend the rest of my life there, and not put forth the effort to learn their language. Same damn thing if I chose to move to an Indian Reservation. I would learn their fuggin' language!

(Bear in mind that I write as I would speak, therefore, slangs are okay.)

But seriously, back on the contest, let me tell you how many entrees I got. Take a guess first, will you? What number did you come up with?

Twenty?

Thirty?

Maybe fifty?

. . .Way too high. Bring it down.

Ten?

Not even.

I got a grand total of _four._

Three pictures and a fic. You had three months, all of you. Three whole months to do _something,_ and most of you did _nothing._

There are three contestants, therefore, three winners. They won't be announced here, however, I can tell you what the top prize was: a cameo.

Don't understand? That's your own fault for _not entering._

If you need me, I'll be in the corner, rocking back and forth, hugging my knees, and if I stop moving or fall over, don't worry; I've just cried myself to sleep.

Mankind is doomed. But don't worry. I'll still be writing and drawing.

. . .Maybe.


	24. Cute Cuddly Sad Hopeful

She didn't know the elder one very well, really, with how opposite they appeared to be, yet she felt as though she would be greatly hurt if she learned he'd died.

And so she said, "What do you need me to do?"

_**Mansion **_

A few moments later, his lip began trembling and his eyes filled again.

Her scent was everywhere in his room now.

. . .Would it last three years?

_**Fifty Five**_

(To start with, sorry. I was unfair last chapter, how snappy I got. When I said anything was acceptable in the contest, I really meant it. Whatever you're good at, you could have done it and entered it. Maybe that part wasn't specific enough. The rant itself was a rare occurrence in my life; I don't normally let things bother me that much. But still. Four entrees. Versus the huge fanbase I supposedly have for this universe. I guess the question is how dedicated the majority of you are. Now to the chapter.)

Kagome didn't get much sleep that night, with the workload on her mind as heavy as it was. For one, she caught up on her schoolwork only about halfway in a day's time. For two, she kept thinking about the promise Inuyasha had made her – well, the elder one's promise to stay alive. And then the younger Inuyasha's, that he was getting some sort of present for her. That was three.

Then there was Hisaka. Kagome empathized with her, perhaps more than she should be, but she couldn't help it. She felt that if Hisaka asked for help, Kagome would give it, unquestioningly. Kyou too; such a cute little demon pup. She looks like she knows the world better than most yet keeps an innocent, upbeat outlook. On top of that, Kyou really seems to love Shippou.

And then Souta – ye gods, Souta. Since Kagome got back and started working on her homework, Souta showed up and hung out in her room, chatting from time to time. Mostly he sat on her bed much like Inuyasha tended to, except that Souta kept fidgeting and playing with a baseball, eventually getting a Gameboy and playing that – sound on and all.

By the time Kagome had had enough and berated him about why he was in there, he was nearly asleep. But he got up fast enough and stated that while Inuyasha was gone, he was under orders to keep an eye on her at all times. Undoubtedly, it was Inuyasha himself who charged Souta with that mission. Knowing Inuyasha like she did, refusing to allow Souta to hang out would only return negatively to Souta, so she let him stay.

She also wondered when Inuyasha had given her brother that order. In the end she put it out of her mind and let it die there.

She ended up telling Souta about Kyou and he mentioned how cute she sounded, but that she wasn't as cute as his girlfriend. Currently Kagome couldn't remember her name, but she remembered clearly how she cheered on Souta when he was gutting up the nerves to talk to her. Souta didn't stay much longer after that, it being Kagome's bedtime.

That sounded funny for her to say, but she had a routine now and it's hard to give those up. While Souta left to go to sleep too, looking far more tired than Kagome felt, Kagome was packing up her notes and shutting down her computer. It was easy on her when it came to notes, to just retype them all on her computer for later. The action itself put more information in her mind than just reading it would have.

And tomorrow, she was going to have a surprise from Inuyasha. It made her giddy, but eventually sleep won out and she dreamt happy dreams until the following morning – a rare occurrence in itself when Inuyasha wasn't present to stave off the nightmares. When she awoke, the dream was far away and she couldn't recall it in the least, just the feeling of waking up warm and a little tingly.

_**Inuyasha **_

He had a light air about him as he hopped into the well and transferred through time. On his back was a bundle he'd wrapped up carefully, all for Kagome. He hoped she would like his present, but knowing Kagome, there was little chance that she _wouldn't_ like it. No, knowing her, she would become all grins and happiness, and probably kiss him.

His body stirred at the thought, and he mentally kicked it back down. Now wasn't the time. He strutted into the Higurashi home as he always did, getting greetings from Mama and Grandpa, and he waved at them both on his way up the stairs.

It felt really nice, knowing that those two saw his pack, knowing they trusted him enough to not question it – even when going directly to Kagome's room, which again was information they knew. They didn't say a downward word towards him, not at this moment, in fact almost never did they even look at him with a sour glance. He was accepted into this family, though he'd given them little reason to trust him from the beginning.

Maybe that's why the humans of the future inherited the earth: they could see a person's true self even when they themselves couldn't see it. Somehow they knew his goodhearted nature, and by seeing it, they made it obvious to himself.

He lightly tapped on Kagome's shut door with his claws. It was his own special kind of knock; she never had to ask who it was. He could hear her moving around, but no, she wasn't awake. So he opened the door, crept inside, shut the door behind him, took off his pack and sat down. He unwrapped it and began setting it up, his smile continuing undaunted at the knowledge that this beautiful work was done by _him._

It was what amounted to as a mini Shrine, a meter wide at its biggest part. It was unassembled at the moment, and he wanted it finished for Kagome to see before she woke; he had things to be placed within it, too.

A glance at each part of the Shrine told him exactly what to do with it, and it was finished in no time. Setting it upon her desk, he pulled the figurines out of his haori and began placing them inside, ticking them off in his mind.

_Kaede, Miroku, Sango, Shippou, Kyou, Kirara, myself, Kagome, Kohaku, Souta, Mama, Gramps. . . Damn, where'd that asshole go?_

He searched through his haori and found the last piece. _There we go! . . Kouga. Heh. I'll put him back here. . ._ he thought, placing Kouga in the far back. They had their own positions in which they stood.

Kaede was hunched over with a basket in her one arm and a kettle in the other. Miroku was holding his staff in the crook of his arm, hands together in prayer. Sango was in her battle costume, Hiraikotsu above her head in an almost-throw. Shippou was one foot in a mid-jump, a top in his hand. Kyou, which he had to partially rush with, had her mother's fan opened behind her, her head tilted in question. It was adorable and Kagome was going to hug him extra tight for that one.

He chuckled and looked them over again.

Kirara was transformed but didn't look threatening, placed behind Sango as a kind of bodyguard. Inuyasha himself had Tessaiga drawn and laid over his shoulders, a hand lifted in welcoming of Kagome. . . Kagome, who was placed across from him but close, standing almost on one foot. . . his best work ever, to be sure, she was so graceful in the carving, down to the flow of her skirt and hair. He was surprised it'd turned out so well.

Souta was added too, feet wide apart and hand raised in a wave. Mama had her arms out a little in welcoming, while Gramps was hunched over with an oddball 'heirloom' in his hands, but even he looked happy. Kouga was crouched with on hand on the ground, grinning and showing fangs in true wolf pissery style.

Inuyasha grinned as he rearranged the figurines time and again, until he finished playing with them and left them as they were. The dolls were wooden, as was most of the Shrine if not for a rock base. The underside was covered in a paste made from leaves that Kaede taught him how to do, which when dried, protected both the rock and whatever it sat upon from grinding and helped displace the weight.

Or something. He wasn't paying much attention to the old crone.

He looked over his shoulder at Kagome, then picked up the wrap and draped it over the Shrine. When Kagome woke up, she would see it, take off the cloth, be amazed, and then come running downstairs to show her gratitude. He just knew it would be so. And if she wanted more dolls, she had but to ask.

He crept out of the room again, pausing long enough to smile at her sleeping form before shutting the door and heading back downstairs. Mama was in the middle of breakfast, perfect timing. Being in such good spirits, he helped her out voluntarily. Souta was down before Kagome, and said a hearty 'hello' to Inuyasha before sitting and being fed.

Then from upstairs, Kagome could be heard squealing. A second later she was laughing, and then her door slammed open and her footsteps thudded down the hall and stairs. Inuyasha turned to her just in time to catch her as she threw herself at him.

His mind retreated inwards and he hugged Kagome tightly, ignoring Souta's comment about good morning hugs and Mama's blush at them. Gramps slapped him on the back and warned him to make sure Kagome wouldn't regret this later, but as soon as the old man left, Inuyasha's back began tingling.

He grunted. "Kagome, I think your Gramps put another ofuda on my back."

She laughed and stepped back. He turned around and felt her tear the charm off. She crumpled it up, threw it away, then sat down for breakfast. Inuyasha sat next to her.

"So?" he asked.

She looked up, her eyes bright and her smile wide. "You are the sweetest thing," she cooed.

He blushed. "Not the reaction I was hoping for," he grumbled, lowering his chin to hide his eyes.

A second later and Kagome was leaning on him. "Thank you. Did you make all those yourself?"

He nodded but kept his chin down. His cheeks still felt hot.

"Wow, who knew you were so good with your hands?" she teased.

He looked up sharply. What kind of a tease was _that?_ He'd always been good with his hands. Fighting, swordplay, clawing, groping – wait, he didn't mean to think that. His blush, though faded a moment before, returned. "Wench," he muttered, unable to think of a good response.

She giggled. "Each your breakfast already," she purred.

The purr didn't help him blush, but he nodded and started picking at his plate. It didn't take long for the picking to turn into pigging, and he was grinning by the end. Damn, but Mama cooked excellently.

"Arigatou," he said, looking up at her.

Mama nodded. "You're very welcome. Only the best for family, you know?" she added, getting up and clearing the plates.

Inuyasha was so stunned he didn't notice anything for several moments. Mama thought of him as family? He was sure someone patted him between the ears, but he didn't know who. He returned to himself minutes later, staring at the table with wide eyes and an open mouth. He shut his mouth quickly and got up, turning to Mama and finding her washing the dishes.

". . .Kagome no Kaasan?" he asked.

"Yes?" she replied, smiling at the dishes in the sink.

"Do you. . . think of me as family?"

"Well, of course," she said, turning to look at him. "How else would I think of you?"

He gulped. "Most people tended to consider me a threat, unworthy, annoying, or all three."

"Oh, pish posh," she commented. "You're a strapping young man and should be treated as such."

He swore his heart grew more than his ego on that one. "You really think so?" he asked, incredulously.

"It's obvious. You're kind yet determined, sweet yet strong, smart yet clumsy with words, and most of all. . ." She stopped washing the dishes, dried her hands on her apron, and turned to face him. "Most of all, Kagome thinks the same and more of you. Kagome is never wrong about people."

He could have cried, if not for his big, manly exterior. "Thank you, Kagome no Kaasan."

"Would you call me just Mama?" she asked, returning to the dishes.

His face flamed. "Wh-why would I. . ?"

"Well, you and Kagome are going to be married, right?"

'Flamed' was no longer accurate. His face was on fire. "Well, I was hoping, but. . ."

"Then you'll be my son soon enough. Why not start early?" She said it so simply, like it was the most obvious rule on the planet.

Despite his embarrassment, he still smiled. "Thank you, Mama," he said at last, and quickly turned and left the room before he could be pinned like that again. He practically had to brush sweat off his forehead from that one.

"You are the sweetest thing."

His face reheated. He turned to find Kagome in the doorway, smiling as brightly as ever, ready for school.

"Shall we?" she asked, holding out her hand.

He couldn't help but take her hand. He also didn't have to ask how much she'd heard. It was a rare thing, being unable to notice her, but in his defense that was a really embarrassing conversation. They started out the door, Inuyasha pausing to go back for her lunch, and then trekked to her school, hand in hand the whole way.

Kagome wasn't blushing nearly as much as he was. Oddly, he felt glad for that. It gave him more control to know she was in control, too. About halfway to her school, she started swinging their joined hands, and when he looked at her, she had the simplest smile on her face. . .

And it made her look so beautiful and incredibly cute at the same time. He couldn't stop his grin, nor did he try. He swung their hands with her, ignoring funny glances from passersby. Sure he was still wearing his red outfit, but it's not like most of them hadn't seen him before. He was certain most of them recognized Kagome as well, if they read the paper and saw the news. Which means they knew who he was anyway, whatever he wore.

Kagome stepped closer to him and hugged his arm with her free hand. It must be adorable to see from another person's point of view, but right now all Inuyasha could feel was peace. It was a sad thing when Kagome's friends joined up with her, because that meant they had to be a bit more formal and let go of each other's hands.

Inuyasha fell back a step to keep an eye on the entire area as the girls chatted. He heard but didn't understand most of it, mainly because he couldn't quite distinguish their voices when they were that close together and talking at once. Truly, he wasn't thinking about it much anyway. Girl talk was precisely girl talk because men didn't listen.

At the school gates, Kagome threw formality to the wind and kissed him sweetly. She lingered a few moments as people watched with blushes and smiles, and Inuyasha didn't try to hold back. He pulled her to him and returned the pressure until she was satisfied and drew back. Someone whistled and another whooped, but other than that, the moment remained untainted.

Then the bell rang and she had to go. Their hands parted reluctantly, holding on for the longest possible time before slipping apart. Something magical glued Inuyasha's feet to the sidewalk until Kagome was out of sight, and then he turned, smiling widely, and began the trek back home.

Funny how easy he saw Kagome's house as his home now. He wondered if they would always live there, or if Kagome would want a home of her own, to share with just him. . ?

Funny how easy that made his heart sing.

_**Sesshomaru **_

He felt so relieved, he could hardly express it. Currently, this relief took over physically and he relaxed completely in his chair, residing in his study for the time being. Inuyasha had come to him last night and said that he agreed to keep living. . . for three years. He had agreed when Kagome asked him to just see her baby.

Sesshomaru hadn't counted on that. When he'd asked her to convince Inuyasha to keep living, he hadn't thought of her future baby, because it was with a different time in Inuyasha's life. But Kagome, she was so clever, opting to allow Inuyasha to see her baby before he would let himself die. Living long enough to see the child born would be a pleasure to his brother, one so great not even death itself could mar the feeling.

And so Sesshomaru smiled. This time, for sure, Inuyasha had a death plan that would involve no pain. He'd done his self-appointed duty, succeeded, and now, he had the chance to be happy just once more. There was nothing Sesshomaru wanted more for his younger brother than for him to be happy again, even if it was a brief happiness. It would be enough.

Sesshomaru had never seen Inuyasha cry tears of happiness, which saddened Sesshomaru to a point. When his first child was born, his son, Hajime, he could swear he'd felt the touch of his father's hand on his shoulder, a proud motion that made Sesshomaru smile a true smile. It was something so rare that his beautiful wife had sobbed happily, holding their son, and in turn Sesshomaru himself managed a nervous chuckle and felt wetness in his own eyes.

He'd held his family for such a long moment that he might have thought years had gone by, if he hadn't seen Rin enter the room to ask if it was okay to see her little brother.

That had been it for Sesshomaru, what had made him cry. Sure he'd taken Rin in out of some misplaced obligation, but over time, she became his human daughter, and he couldn't have loved her more. It hurt to this day that she had died so long ago, but he still had a few gifts of hers, and every year on her birthday, he made a wreath a flowers like she used to do and places it on her tombstone.

For a while, he'd had a real family, his brother had a niece and nephew, and his home felt truly like a home. It had taken almost a century for him to stop hurting over the demise of his wife, but he'd had a son to help him through it. It had been worse, that Rin had passed on not long after his wife, but he still had a son, and Rin's children and grandchildren. . .

And Inuyasha.

It was a strange thing, really, being comforted by your younger brother who had been through the same thing, only was far more torn about it. It had surprised Sesshomaru so greatly, when Inuyasha came to him as he cried over his wife's grave and then had hugged him, crying with him. For a moment there was no difference between them; they were brothers sobbing over their dead mates, and nothing more.

And it had helped.

There was so much in common between them after that, both lost a wife and both broke down from it. The main difference between them now, is that Sesshomaru had found his wife's reincarnation and started a new family, and to this day they spoke at least once every day. She ruled half of his empire with him, and his old wounds had all but healed even of their scars.

And Inuyasha still had no one. It must be worse, Sesshomaru mused, that he could have Kagome again if he truly wanted; his younger self was no threat to him. Yet he held back and let them have their happiness together, not even watching from a distance.

But he would live for three more years. That was what mattered, wasn't it?

_**Motsumoto **_

His new job wasn't exactly easy. Mainly because he had to train for it. His job was to remain as a 'police officer', with emphasis on that it would be mostly show. He would be 'reassigned' when his training was completed, to a demon's team of humans, who hunted together for otherworldly offenders of laws and nature.

That's right, nature. These demons had a whole different set of laws accompanied with humans, making a demon's life harder. They had to obey by the laws of nature as well, which essentially meant they couldn't be themselves or they would have to do so where it was allowed. There were demons who ate living flesh as sustenance, and they had to make sure this living flesh was entirely cloned from living, breathing, thinking volunteers.

Others drew on the powers of nature around them, and had to do so in moderation or the balance would shift irrevocably. Still others had traditions that Motsumoto disliked thinking about, and so, he thought perhaps this was a bad idea. But it was too late.

As with Neo, he had chosen the red pill; he chose this life for himself. Now he had to live with it. No regrets.

He was practicing gunfire, but with guns he'd never known existed until this moment. Made specifically for taking down or taking out demons, they were heavy, with kicks stronger than those of shotguns and snipers. It made it much more difficult to aim, and Motsumoto's shoulder was covered in bruises already.

First day, gunfighting. Second day, weight training. Third day, spiritual training. Fourth day, sensory training. Fifth day, intelligence training, which included demon knowledge. Sixth day, rest. Seventh day, preparation.

On the sixth day of every week, he would see a demon doctor, or so he was a told. An empath demon with the ability to heal most wounds, even mental ones, she would make sure he was tuned up and ready to go for the following first day.

Sesshomaru told him this training would go on until he was up to the level of Demon Hunter, in which case his training would change to that of combat. But ultimately, he would have no breaks for at least a year. Once that was finished, he would have a much more stable schedule of training simply meant to keep himself sharp, and the _real_ work would begin.

He wasn't looking forward to it much, but if the humans he'd seen do these things were true humans, then he himself was also qualified for the job.

He was also forewarned that during sensory training, any failing on his part – such as his need for glasses – would be corrected on the sixth day. Soon, glasses would be an option, and he would learn to rely on all his senses, including those that he'd yet to discover.

Or so they said.

He saw other humans training, and found quickly that once you finish all your training and begin your real job, you would be tested a final time based on your past progress to see which weapon fits you best and which fits you worst. You were to carry one of each with you at all times, and be working on these traits at every spare moment, even if it was just in thought.

Motsumoto had always had the best aim in his class, with any kind of gun. He imagined that even for these beasts he was using now, it would take little time to master them. Some day he would be like his superior Akira-san, who had shown him how to use these guns.

She was amazing, holding the heavy firearm easily with two hands. She'd fired six times, and when the target was brought up to them, there was a single hole in the center of its heart, with nicks around the edges showing that the bullets had all passed through this same hole. And then she'd demonstrated in-combat shooting, knocking down eight targets as they popped up around the room. In the end, each had a bullet hole in the head or heart, almost dead center on each.

Then she had reloaded, handed him the gun, and told him to show what he could do. At first he'd taken it lightly, but after the first shot almost knocked him off his feet, he grew much more serious and respectful of Akira-san.

"Higaru-san," she had said, "you have skill, and knowledge, but you need muscle. I'll inform the weight training class. This job isn't for the feint of heart – you won't kill any demon with a regular bullet to the head, remember that. Never hold back. Demons regenerate far too quickly."

He had taken her words seriously and was only getting better now. He remembered shooting Inuyasha in the back several times, and how the man how shrugged it off. Now that he thought of it, he didn't remember seeing a drop of blood, either. But he could have scraped the hanyou, couldn't he?

Well, the next time he'd seen Inuyasha, they had an interesting conversation and he didn't seem any put out by the fact that he'd been shot. But Motsumoto couldn't decide if that was a good or bad thing.

In any case, at least his shots were getting better. Akira-san had been right; shooting at a still target was one thing, but it was another to hit one in motion. Until he mastered this, he wouldn't shoot anything that was moving. He remembered her holding the gun in two hands, away from her shoulder, despite the fact that it was to be held against your shoulder to hold the kick and aim better.

It proclaimed her skill and strength, and he felt more than a little determined from it. No way was he, a man naturally skilled with firearms, going to be beaten by a female. He could be as strong as her, as quick, as smart, and as skilled. He was going to surpass her and be the top gunfighter with all weapons. He was sure of it.

And then. . . would Akira-san smile at him and say how well she knew he could do it, how much she'd hoped for his success?

He smiled. Akira-san was something. Now he had to prove to her that he was something, too. Something damn well worth noticing.

He fired again and saw the target's head fall back as he finally blasted it off. He grinned.

_**:End Chapter:**_

Whoo, Motsumoto's in looooove! Or at least in lust. In any case, I wonder if Akira would accept him. Eh, oh well.

I don't suppose if I started another contest that it would get better results. Besides which, I'm in college now. That's right, the big ol' school meant for furthering your education where it counts to give you the best job ever.

Correction, best _career_ ever.

I hope everyone 'aww'ed and 'oooh'ed and got all fuzzy in the chest. And I mean fuzzy fuzzy, not fuzzy _moldy._ If you're molding in the chest. . . congrats, you're dead. X.x

Zombie-fied!

Moving on.

See ya!


	25. Moving On To Better Things

And tomorrow, she was going to have a surprise from Inuyasha. It made her giddy, but eventually sleep won out and she dreamt happy dreams until the following morning – a rare occurrence in itself when Inuyasha wasn't present to stave off the nightmares. When she awoke, the dream was far away and she couldn't recall it in the least, just the feeling of waking up warm and a little tingly.

_** Inuyasha **_

Funny how easy he saw Kagome's house as his home now. He wondered if they would always live there, or if Kagome would want a home of her own, to share with just him. . ?

Funny how easy that made his heart sing.

_** Sesshomaru **_

And Inuyasha still had no one. It must be worse, Sesshomaru mused, that he could have Kagome again if he truly wanted; his younger self was no threat to him. Yet he held back and let them have their happiness together, not even watching from a distance.

But he would live for three more years. That was what mattered, wasn't it?

_** Motsumoto **_

He smiled. Akira-san was something. Now he had to prove to her that he was something, too. Something damn well worth noticing.

He fired again and saw the target's head fall back as he finally blasted it off. He grinned.

_**Fifty Six**_

_(One more head note here. I got an anonymous review for the last chapter don't bother trying to find it, I got pissed about it and deleted it saying how egotistical I was and how it was the readers' faults and how my hurt about the lack of contestants scared away that reader for life. First of all, not to sling words, but how frickin' pathetic do you have to be to run away from a fic because the author had a spat? Honestly, how many times have I gone over the edge? **None** besides that one. Excuuuuuuuse **me** for being offended, but hell, I got over it. I already apologized for being a bitch about it, what else do I have to do, stand on my head and sing nursery rhymes for Naraku? Ye gods. Gimme a break here, I write for you guys way more than for myself. I'm not making a big deal about it anymore, am I wrong to expect the same from the rest of you?)_

The only way Inuyasha was going to live another three years would be to start really taking care of himself, at least for two years, anyway. For some reason he couldn't decipher, he couldn't remember the exact day of the death of Kagome and their daughter, no matter how he tried. The dates escaped him; he only had a general idea. Seven months into her pregnancy, eight? What was the number?

He'd been thinking about it for almost five centuries and still yet his mind deserted him. He knew he shouldn't have forgotten, as he clearly remembered counting the days down until the baby's predicted birthdate and had it marked on calenders.

He'd forgotten other things, too, more unimportant things. He couldn't remember Mama's age, couldn't remember Souta's school, or exactly where he and Kagome had been living at the time. Had they moved out of her mother's home and shrine, or was he living in her room with her? What color had their room been? How many baby things had they purchased by the time of her death?

Did the baby have her own room made up? Was it blue, pink, yellow? What toys were there for her? Baby clothes, pacifiers, mobiles, bottles; why couldn't he remember?

Repressed memories were a theory used wildly by doctors and psychiatrists these days, but no matter how many times he was shrinked or how many experts Sesshomaru brought and asked questions to, none of them – demon or human – could say precisely why Inuyasha had trouble remembering these things except for old age.

He wasn't _that_ old, was he?

Probably. He felt old these days.

Sighing, he got up and went downstairs, turning corners until he had taken the back door out to the grounds. The extra walking would do him good. A day of walking would keep him alive for three days, at least, and that's without food.

With Tessaiga at his side, he almost felt young and invincible again. Allowing himself a marginal smile, he drew Tessaiga and began attacking. A good training session might do him good; it's been so long since he'd had to fight, let alone with Tessaiga's aid. It pulsed happily in his hands, as though it needed the training as well.

"Not much longer," he promised the fang. "You don't have to wait much longer, Chichi-ue. I'll be dead in a few more years and then you'll finally be able to touch me. You'd damn well better be taking care of Kagome and our daughter up there."

The most frustrating thing about losing his daughter so early had been not knowing her name. As was custom, it fell upon Kagome's shoulders to name her, though they both discussed it lengthily at all hours of the day. He remembered that Kagome had been stuck between six names at the time of her death, though again, Inuyasha couldn't recall that bit of information.

He wondered if he really had repressed those memories, or if Kagome had done it for him, to protect him from further pain.

"Master," a voice called out.

Inuyasha looked over his shoulder. The demon he saw looked human to untrained eyes, but Inuyasha could see and smell that this demon was a male moth type. "Oy."

The demon nodded. "I was asked to provide challenges for your training."

Inuyasha snorted. "Good luck trying to even keep up."

"You're rusty."

Inuyasha's eye twitched then, and he took offense to that. "And how would you know that? You smell barely a century old."

The moth shivered. "My name is Minomi and I hide the powers of my ancestors. Please don't underestimate me because you can't smell the extent of my strength."

Now _that_ sounded like someone who was serious. The truly powerful, after all, had no reason to show off. When challenged, they displayed that power. And this Minomi was here to provide a challenge.

Inuyasha turned to him and held Tessaiga level at his right side. "Then show me this challenge you've brought. Don't waste my time, Minomi."

Minomi nodded again. "Sesshomaru-sama warned me about your strength. I won't go easy on you."

For the first time in a long time, Inuyasha felt himself smirk. A good spar was exactly what he needed from time to time, though that will had disappeared for centuries. Maybe at last, with his past finally being pushed behind him, he was beginning to return to himself.

He rushed Minomi.

_** Hisaka **_

She was fidgeting in class again. Guilt had set in the moment she'd confronted Kagome and found that Kagome wasn't all that different from her, as they'd both been hurled into a life they didn't want at a time when neither of them wanted a change. Her actions against Kagome now made her feel horrible, most especially for altering that picture as revenge and then attacking Hojo.

She figured the worst of the guilt was towards Hojo, because she'd attacked him without reason, without warning, and without mercy, though he'd had nothing to do with Kagome's rape in the least and had only been trying to explain to her that Kagome hadn't asked for it.

The day after she saw him, her father mentioned that about a quarter of the money they'd sent to him and his mother had been returned. Being a math whiz had made it easy for her to deduce that they'd paid bills, and then kept as much as they thought they could without offending anyone. What Hojo's mother didn't know about was the second check that was sent, directly from Hisaka to Hojo just a few days ago.

She'd included a note with it, essentially hiding the check from anyone who would hold up the letter to a light to see through it, which basically said that he should keep the money in a savings account so it could grow, an estimated amount of money based on interest rates and a plan she'd concocted, along with a short story she'd found on the internet and printed out just to bulk up space and make it seem not so pointless.

The story itself was actually almost an explanation of what happened to her and her journey through her mind as she'd battled her way back out, though it had been written almost four years beforehand. Granted it was censored so you only knew the basics, with no detailed torture, but it still explained a lot while being entirely fictional and concerning a character named simply 'The Kunoichi'.

Vague, yes, but it made sense to her.

She took off her glasses and rubbed her eyes, almost completely ignoring her science teacher. Placing her glasses back on, she glanced out the window. She thought about the letter Hojo had sent back to her, typed and printed out because of his lack of a hand, so to speak. It had arrived yesterday.

His letter could be easily summed up as, "I understand about the check and how sending it back would only offend you. I'll tell you now that I don't need the money today, but I'll take your advice and put it in a savings account first thing tomorrow." It went on to ask about that short story she'd included, and during all of her first period class, she had been writing a reply to that.

She wasn't sure why, but every time she thought of Hojo, she got a pang of regret for what she'd done to him, but more pointedly and confusedly, she tended to feel an odd flutter that varied from different spots in her chest and abdomen. She could label it nervousness and be done with it, except that it felt stronger than that and she knew it wasn't fully accurate.

So she tapped her foot in class, ignoring the curious glances she got from her nearby classmates as she visibly paid zero attention to their teacher, even when he called on her.

Whatever she was feeling towards Hojo was easily a result of her going to all-girl schools her entire life. She knew that, never being in direct contact with boys without her parents or guardians being around, then meeting a boy at all would naturally be something of a thrill.

With her torturous past being forcibly shoved behind her, she began thinking of her future more and more lately, about what her life has in store for her when she finally becomes an adult. What kind of boy would she meet, marry, and live with? Would she have sons, daughters? How many of each, in what order? Will she be as successful as her parents or will she marry a boy rich and successful enough that she won't have to?

Hojo wasn't the only one she'd sent a letter to with a check. Also including the aforementioned short story, Hisaka had sent a check to Kagome the same day she'd sent the letter to Hojo. Sure the check to Kagome wasn't as much, but Hisaka's guilt was stronger towards Hojo and besides which she knew someone else out there was taking care of Kagome.

"Kyone!" the teacher barked next to her, waking her from her thoughts.

Not the type to jump at attention, Hisaka rolled her eyes towards her teacher. "Hai, sensei?"

He looked furious. "You weren't listening. I don't know how you've been passing class up until now. I tell you, if you sleep through one more lecture. . !"

". . .Will I finally be able to drop this class?" she asked, rudely.

His face almost lit on fire, he turned so red. "If you want out of this class so bad, then begone! Don't you dare try to return!" He pointed at the door with a sharp gesture.

She packed her bag. "Arigatou, sensei. Sayonara." She got up and walked out of the room.

No problem here. One test and she'd prove herself smart enough to be at a class a level above. So what if it was the middle of the school year? She was smart and rich enough to hire tutors and catch up with the advanced classes in no time. Hell, she might even be able to teach _them_ a thing or two.

All she needed was an advanced book or two.

_** Sango **_

Since Kagome began taking lengthy absences back to her time, Sango's job became roughly that of Kagome's, though she didn't recall ever asking for it. When Kagome was gone, Shippou was far more attached to Sango than usual. That, and Miroku tended to grope twice as much.

She blushed there, thinking about these past weeks. To say that Miroku had done a one-eighty and became a saint was stretching it farther than logic would allow. But he had been sweeter, and kinder, and had in fact been resisting the urge to fondle her.

His actions confused and flustered her at first. The way he would pause, now and then, just to look at her for a moment or touch her cheek or shoulder, never ceased to make her blush. As time went by, she began getting used to the attention enough that she began asking about the why. . . And then he stepped it up a notch.

One moment she was beginning a rant about him trying to seduce her, and the next moment she was cradled against his chest as though she needed the comfort – comfort from the arms of a lover. That's the way he held her, like he'd done it hundreds of times before, that they shared a bed and a life. The action had caught her off guard to the point where she could only stand still and wonder for several moments.

This continued on until just a few days ago, when she'd been thinking about Kagome's poor lot in life and it had been depressing her. Hugging herself did little to help the sad feeling in her heart, until she felt arms around her and knew at once that Miroku was there. Unconsciously, she had leaned back into him, absorbing his warmth and basking in the comfort he was giving her.

His hands stayed still the entire time, and he hadn't said a word, either. After some time he'd pulled her a bit closer and tilted his head down so his breath caressed her cheek, but that had been it. At least, until she'd tried to look up at him, a question forming on her lips – he'd beaten her to her question with the answer: a kiss.

Her response to that had come unwillingly, a soft moan that had made her heart flutter as she'd heard it, just as much as his kiss was causing at the same moment. For a split second she had a feeling of eternal peace and a want to never let it end, but in the next moment, it had ended and she was staring at her toes. Warmth flooded her face but she'd stayed there, smiling faintly in memory.

The moment had continued to last until Shippou and Kyou had jumped in, chasing each other and yelling happily, making Sango and Miroku break apart in embarrassment. They had looked away from each other, blushing, before glancing up again and catching the other's gazes.

Miroku smiled first, and though Sango wanted to pummel him, she had smiled as well. So many incidents followed afterwards, but never when Kagome was in their time. Sango had the odd feeling that Inuyasha new what she and Miroku were up to, yet he kept quiet about it, to his credit. She was certain that he was giving them looks, however.

Not that Kyou was a part of their company, Shippou tried less and less to get attention from the adults, instead playing with Kyou and Kirara like they were parts of his family. Or parts of his family to-be, as Kyou seemed fully intent on being his mate in the future when they were both fully grown.

Just now, as Sango stopped daydreaming and began focusing more on her task, she realized that Miroku had joined her. Gathering buckets of water for Kaede wasn't exactly the same as hunting demons, but any hard work she went through kept her in shape, so she offered with no hesitation to be an errand girl for the time being. Now Miroku was trudging them along with her, but. . .

He seemed to be trying to impress her. A skilled fighter and monk he was, but he was _not_ the strongest man in the village. He was trying to carry three bamboo sticks, each holding two buckets of water, and he was grinning at her – but he was also slowing with each step. Sango had two bamboo sticks with the same setup, but this was normal training for her.

The only difference is that Kaede doesn't need as much water as Sango could carry in one day. So while Sango chuckled at Miroku's valiant efforts, she was keeping her pace and feeling somewhat flattered. He was really, truly trying to impress her. He had done so before, in the past, usually breaking the moment in his classic way, but he had done it.

He was far less of a threat, fighting-wise, without the Kazaana, but hell, he still had that odd charm of his. These days he pointed it towards her instead of every woman, and while Sango tried to convince herself he was doing it because he had no need to try and mate with every woman possible, her heart wasn't listening. No, her heart was claiming he was doing it for _her,_ because he realized he loved her.

But she was getting ahead of herself, and causing a blush at that.

Miroku was trying harder, she noted. He was trying to run ahead of her now, though his body was protesting. She laughed to herself as his shenanigans, sprinting to catch up with him. She gave him a look as she caught up that said, 'I'm better cut out for this than you.'

His replying gaze retorted, 'You'd better prove it.'

She reached over, grabbed one of the buckets from his bamboo sticks, and hooked it on hers. "We're even now." Then she started trotting faster, leaving him behind – or so she thought.

"Ha ta ta ta ta ta ta," he chanted, catching up with her in a burst of determination. "Men are supposed to be stronger!"

"You're half man, half hentai," she commented.

"Hentai men are supposed to be the strongest!"

She laughed. "You're delusional, dear monk."

He grinned at her. "No wonder I like you."

She gasped, offended, then realized what he said and blushed. "Hentai," she muttered, faltering her steps for a moment. The village was in sight, since she had taken a route out of the village to the river rather than the well within. It gave a bit more challenge for her.

"What say we wager?" Miroku asked, stopping, red-faced and panting.

Sango stopped, too. "Wager?"

"Whoever makes it to Kaede-sama's first. . . gets to kiss the other."

She blushed again. "Miroku, you hentai. . !" But it wasn't a bad idea. After all, it would end up as a win-win situation, no matter who made it first. ". . .But you're on," she finished, jumping ahead.

"Oy!" Miroku yelled, kicking into motion after her. Where anything remotely perverted was on the line, he miraculously gained ability, and this was no different. Despite not being used to the strain he was putting his body under, no matter how often he fought, and already being tired, he was putting forth an effort worthy of Naraku's last battle.

And he was catching up quickly. Sango tried going faster, aware of the extra weight on her left shoulder and the off-balance it caused, aiming for Kaede's. But the closer she got to Kaede's hut, the closer Miroku came to passing her by. She tried not to glance at him, for she might become enthralled by the expression she knew he had. . .

She could even imagine it, the determined look, seriousness covering all the hentai urges in his eyes. When he got that look, albeit rare, he definitely looked as breathless as he liked to think of himself. And he was passing her by.

Shocked at not noticing this, and with just a few paces to Kaede's, it was probably too late. But Sango pushed herself harder, and the two of them stepped up at the same moment. Now both of them panting, they set down the bamboo sticks outside the door and collapsed inside.

Sango's legs were aching from that, as were her shoulders; more the left than the right. She lay on her back, catching her breath as Kaede looked at them both funny from her spot and then walked outside for the water. While she was gone, Sango shut her eyes and concentrated on the heat rising from her body. It always helped calm her.

Once her breathing had settled, she opened her eyes – and saw Miroku directly above her. She gasped in surprise, her hand reflexively lifting to slap him or shove him away, but never received her chance. He kissed her, and the moment it ended, he spoke simply, "It was a tie."

She blinked at him, blushin lightly, before catching his meaning. "Oh, it was." She lifted her chin and alternatively kissed him, both of them taking their winning prize rather than fighting about it. By the time Kaede returned, probably having ordered the buckets of water around, the kiss was far more than just a peck of a prize.

Sango's breath had left her again, but in a good way. Her arms were around Miroku's neck, holding him there as the kiss seemingly deepened itself, causing their tongues to begin exploring. Small mews escaped her throat every few seconds, and Miroku answered most of them with his own, more manly mews.

Though Kaede clicked her tongue and stepped back out of the hut, neither of the couple noticed in the least. It wasn't until Miroku's hentai-based hand began feeling around her hip that Sango snapped back to herself. She broke the kiss and shoved at his shoulder with an, "Oy, Miroku. . !"

He smiled at her, his hand stopping its quest. "I'm being nice, aren't I?" he asked.

She blushed deeper. "What do you mean? Hentai are hentai."

"Yes, but I'm keeping my hand to non-hentai areas," he replied.

She hardly considered her hips non-hentai. "Whatever your description of hentai parts are, they're different from mine," she bit out.

"Then why haven't you moved my hand at all?"

That shushed her up pretty well. Thinking about it, she'd shoved at him not because of his hand's exploration as much as the surprise of it. "Because," she blurted after a few moments.

He grinned. "You're so shy."

She could have pounded him, but as was Miroku's habit these days, he always did something to prevent that from happening. This time, he lowered his head and kisses the side of her neck. It wasn't a lingering kiss, or multiple ones; he pecked her lightly, then drew back. He sat up away from her, folding his hands in his lap with a smug look.

She sat up and punched him in the shoulder, hard, despite the feeling growing in her. No matter what he said, his actions were proving themselves time and again. . . that he saw her as a precious woman to him. The kiss to the neck, the way his hand had felt her, the kisses, the light teasing, and even more so, how he obeyed her even though she hadn't truly wanted him to.

No, truthfully, she hadn't even said the words to make him stop. As she looked up at him sideways, she saw him looking at her from basically the same angle, but smiling. She stood up, saying a quick goodbye and that she was going to find Kaede again.

Until she stepped outside and saw Kaede sitting in her garden, tending, did she realize that Kaede hadn't said a word about wanting to check on her herbs at all. Sango's preplexity ended when she realized that Kaede must have walked in on them and chose to leave them be rather than interrupt. Sango's earlier will to help out Kaede died fairly quickly, and she found herself quickly choosing another direction to walk.

Damn that Miroku and how much she liked him.

_**:End Chapter:**_

I want to point out something to everyone reading this who might think I got off-subject by talking about other couples.

**_:Point at title:_** Changing. . .Lives. Not just one or two. Everyone's lives are changing, you know. Think of this as a written soap opera or something.

Everyone has a life and everyone's life is changing. Excuse the reiteration of my point, but I want to make this clear. I showed Motsumoto again because I thought you guys liked him, and to touch down a bit at how hard the lives of demon hunters are. I added Kyou because she's cute, and because three added characters of my own making are just about right for a story such as this.

Hisaka is staying put because her role is going to help Hojo move on from Kagome, rather than mope about it. Better to not leave ends untied, isn't it? I will eventually take care of each of these characters, giving them all an ending that (hopefully) will keep flamers off my butt. I like my butt un-burnt, sankyuu.

So I was just thinking about the demons in Inuyasha and came across an interesting thought. Keep in mind that I've seen very little of the manga since the end of the anime, so this may not be entirely accurate – it's just a theory.

Demons appear to have children depending on their intelligence and attitude. For instance, un-intelligent demons have waves of babies. Usually evil babies. After human meat.

Intelligent demons have far less than that, usually one child at a time, no matter the breed. I can't remember a single good demon or half demon that wasn't an only child, or lacked a twin/triplet/etc. All single children. Except for those twin hanyous from the fourth movie.

They were cute. :D

Case in point: Sesshomaru. Both his parents were dog demons, both with big, white dog forms, and both trailing two strips of fur that so far appear attached by blood to its owner (the debate rages about WTF those furry things are.) Yes Sesshomaru is still an only child in that sense; whatever happened to doggies having litters? Is it because they have human forms that they're limited as such?

I mean, look what _I_ did with them. Breed, breed, breed. As according to their doggy/kitty/etc halfness or wholeness, they bred. Multiple births all around, unless they were humans.

It works out in my head, anyway.

If you're wondering about Naraku and I. . . well. . . he's paying for throwing me in jail. :D

**Naraku:** **_:Crying:_** Let me out, please, Mistress!

**Me: _:Has him in a cage:_** No, you deserve this! Onigumo wasn't this evil, you know! **_:Backhands him:_**

**Naraku:** :-S P-please. . . may I. . . go outside. . ?

**Me:** For what purpose, pet?

**Naraku:** v.v I have to pee.

**Me:** Good reason. **_:Lets him out, but on a shock collar and invisible fence:_**

See ya!


	26. A Few Steps Taken Part 1

For the first time in a long time, Inuyasha felt himself smirk. A good spar was exactly what he needed from time to time, though that will had disappeared for centuries. Maybe at last, with his past finally being pushed behind him, he was beginning to return to himself.

He rushed Minomi.

** Hisaka **

She was smart and rich enough to hire tutors and catch up with the advanced classes in no time. Hell, she might even be able to teach _them_ a thing or two.

All she needed was an advanced book or two.

** Sango **

Until she stepped outside and saw Kaede sitting in her garden, tending, did she realize that Kaede hadn't said a word about wanting to check on her herbs at all. Sango's perplexity ended when she realized that Kaede must have walked in on them and chose to leave them be rather than interrupt. Sango's earlier will to help out Kaede died fairly quickly, and she found herself quickly choosing another direction to walk.

Damn that Miroku and how much she liked him.

**Fifty Seven**

It'd been a hard day.

Shippou was panting heavily on the grass, finding that days without Kagome were becoming easier and easier to bear now that Kyou was with them. She was incredibly cute, but also incredibly playful. So far every day she spent with them involved Shippou in some way or form, and she was becoming less shy every time they played together.

Today's game involved showing off their demon tricks and trying to catch one another, though Shippou was older and therefore better at both. That, and she didn't have very many tricks compared to his own. She could, however, open her mother's fan, cover herself with it, then close it and be gone. And the moment he'd looked over his shoulder and then back, the fan too was missing.

Playing tag was fun too, because he found out that while somewhat slow and clumsy in her human form, Kyou was very fast in her dog form. Shippou himself wasn't sure exactly what her dog form was, and trying to analyze her dog behaviors wasn't helping him figure it out.

She even admitted she didn't know.

Nonetheless, she sure knew how to move well in both forms. It made him a little jealous that his second form (a floating pink sphere wasn't the best power, but at least it annoyed Inuyasha) was mostly useless if not for being able to lift Kagome high. His transformations into other things were going good, though.

At least, his goose was nearly perfected. And he was pretty good at mimicking the others, too, if not for some differences, such as his tail. It made Kyou laugh when he mimicked Inuyasha and ordered a leaf that had taken on his own form to stay away from Kagome. Of course, Shippou had flared Inuyasha's behavior by picking his nose and scratching his ear with his foot.

Kyou would have laughed twice as hard as she did if she knew Inuyasha better. As it was, she had been laughing rather hard, and shortly thereafter, she fell back on the grass and just smiled. Not done playing, he'd come up beside her and started a tickle fight, which admittedly was improper, but at that point he didn't much care. He just wanted to play more.

And though she blushed, she played back, leaving them both in the situation they were now, panting and trying to settle their breathing. Currently, he looked at her and grinned. "Oy, Kyou-chan," he said.

She opened her eyes and smiled back. "Yeah?"

"Nothing," he replied.

She laughed.

** Miroku **

Not having to fight all the time was taking its toll. He sighed, more than a little annoyed at feeling his own strength diminishing little by little. But he could still beat Sango, and that was the good thing. As he thought about that, he glanced at her. Being late, Sango had fallen asleep a short while ago – though not before Miroku had gotten in a grope and a kiss.

He grinned. From the way Sango had spoken about his "waning muscle" earlier, she seemed to truly think he'd been using all of his ability during that race a few days back. It was true that he'd been training himself earlier, but not enough for that water to be a killer; it had been tiring and that was that. He considered it to be a good thing when he was sore and tired from working himself – it meant that the next time he trained himself, it would take more to make him sore and tired.

If he kept that up for long enough. . . all it really meant is that eventually, once he and Sango married as they promised, he would be able to keep her up at night, and those thoughts kept him grinning and training and seducing the seductive vixen.

He wondered, from time to time, how she'd managed to steal his heart and seal his wandering ways so easily. Is this how it was with his father and grandfather? He knew he received his unruly hands from them; had he also inherited a loyalty – for the right woman – so strong no other could harm it?

He glanced at her again, and smiled again. She was certainly worth it, wasn't she? An incredible female in every way he could see. He could imagine what amazingly strong sons she could bear, but also, and probably more appealing, the beautiful, unique, brazen daughters she would undoubtedly bring into the world.

And if this world was perfect, he'd be the father of all of them. As many as she wanted, he'd give; he loved her far too much to ever deny her that. If she wanted a dozen sons and a dozen daughters, then by Kami-sama he'd acquiesce. He'd give up everything except his own flesh and blood to fill her needs.

He closed his eyes. That was enough thinking for one night, wasn't it? But still, Kaede-sama was still awake, and he wanted to talk to the healer. And so he rose silently, crept outside, and found her lightly dozing near her herbs.

Sitting down beside her, he took up a pose of tranquility. She woke a few moments later, feeling his presence there, and turned to him. "Yes?" she spoke.

He smiled. Agile as ever for a sixty-something-year-old. "Good evening," he started. "I wanted to you ask about, ah. . . Sango and my marriage."

"And what is it you need my advice for?"

He shifted. In his head, he had a scenario playing, but scenarios were hard to word. "I have visions of the ceremony," he began, finding the words. "I don't know precisely how to make it all work, though, and neither do I know exactly what Sango would want to take place."

"Ah, you wish me to speak with Sango." It wasn't a question. She moved to face him. "You want me to ask Sango about her dream wedding in your place, then tell you what she said."

He felt guilty all of a sudden, when she looked at him like that. He glanced away. "Only to make it as she wants it."

"Why not ask her yourself?"

He blushed a little. "I suppose it's embarrassing, to talk to her about the wedding when we haven't really spoken of it in some time."

"You're worried she'll think you're trying to rush it."

". . .I am."

Kaede went quiet and thought on that. "So you truly want the wedding to be very soon?" she worded carefully.

He swallowed, uncannily nervous. "Kaede-sama, I wouldn't ask you to do something impossible," he tried. "Even the smallest bit of information would help me. I just can't imagine it being a grain of rice less than perfect." He looked up at her.

She looked very somber. "I will speak to Sango for you, but you must do something for me in return."

He straightened a little. Kaede wasn't the kind of woman to do an eye for an eye. "What would this task be?"

She smiled.

** Sesshomaru **

Thirty days and counting.

With preparations almost complete, he gave himself time to relax. In one month exactly, it was going to be time to visit Chich-ue's grave again. Every hundred years as a ritual, he and Inuyasha left to visit the grave. Granted, at first Inuyasha was less than enthusiastic, but eventually Sesshomaru won and proved the point of respect and fathers.

On that thought, he flipped open his laptop and scrolled the mouse over to a program shortcut with a claw. Several windows popped open and he picked one, enlarged it: Inuyasha was outside at the moment, and this window showed Sesshomaru what was going on.

A demon fell and admitted defeat, and Inuyasha grinned. It made Sesshomaru smile. It took a lot of incentive on his part, but he managed to get demon after demon to come and spar with Inuyasha. He knew for a long time that Inuyasha's main usefulness and joy – outside of Kagome – is sparring with those worthy enough to provide a challenge.

In these days, finding that challenge was the hard part. Luckily, the lack of conflict got under most demons' skins, so initiating a fight wasn't the problem – finding a demon who was willing to fight Inuyasha, however. . .

About three hundred years ago, Sesshomaru and Inuyasha got into a fight with another demon who wanted all of Japan to rule, and though the fight left its scars on most things except their bodies, the brothers won. Soon after, everyone knew of Inuyasha and Sesshomaru, the sons of the greatest inu tai-youkai who'd ever lived. If that wasn't enough, the two were often referred to as being a force as deadly as nature when teamed up, and from that, demons began telling stories of them – sometimes exaggerated, but neither brother ever corrected them.

Humans, on the other hand, tended to forcibly forget the old times and stories and move on, leaving only the demons and specific families aware that demons still existed, along with their stories.

When Inuyasha first told Sesshomaru of his plan of protecting Kagome, the first thing he mentioned was that he didn't know who her ancestors were. So instead he staked out her future residence with demon hands, and Sesshomaru kept a stronger eye on her through his family and close friends. One thing Inuyasha didn't know was that his great nephew, Sesshomaru's grandchild, helped Kagome's family build the shrine they lived in now.

If you call "helping" being killing the hostile demons lazing around and clearing the area of trees. The funniest part is that it was unintentional; the grandson had been training himself and ended up accidentally saving the life of one of Kagome's ancestors and earning lifetime gratitude. Only himself, Sesshomaru, his wife and his mother knew this story; they were keeping it tight between them.

Speak of the devil, he thought, looking up as a very familiar scent wafted up. "Good morning, Mother," he called as she entered the room.

She was starting to look old. It twisted his heart to know her life was ending, so he kept up a smile in her presence.

"Good morning," she said back, easing into a chair across from him and sighing. She kept her hair much shorter now than in the past, and always held up and out of her face. "Watching your little brother again?"

He leaned back. "Yes. He seems to be recovering."

"At long last," she spoke as though reading his mind. She waved a finger at him. "Come here, son."

He stood up and rounded the desk. Sitting on it across from her, he knew she meant business. "Yes, Mother?"

"Are you sure he's getting better?" she asked with concern in her voice. It had taken a long time for her to get over his father taking a human mate, and longer to come to terms with Inuyasha's existence, but after so long, she began seeing Inuyasha as a son as well.

"Positive. I don't lie to you." He hadn't said, _I wouldn't lie to you._ He knew she understood the difference.

She stood up, again with a sigh, making the lines on her face appear deeper. "Sesshomaru. . ."

He knew that look. She did that from time to time, give him a longing look, sometimes utter his name once or twice. Then she'd look a little saddened and, never finishing her thought, simply leave. _Not this time._

He stepped away from the desk and pulled her to him, hugging her tightly. "I won't let him just die, Mother. And neither will I keel over for no reason."

He could feel her surprise even as she hugged him back. "This is a surprise," she commented, leaning into him. "You don't normally drop what you're doing to hold your elderly mother."

He frowned. "You're not elderly," he denied. "And yes, I know, it's unlike me. But not to worry, I still have my facade for those outside of family."

This had taken a long time as well. From the moment he knew how to speak and brandish his claws, his mother hadn't been an active part of his life. Standing around hugging wasn't on their daily activity list. Even during their meetings until the last two centuries, there was rarely any touching or relaxed feelings. Funny how it had taken Inuyasha's unexpected entry into his life to make him feel for his mother again.

He let her go. "I am sorry," he said, offhandedly.

She looked confused. "About what? What could _you_ possibly have to be sorry for?" she asked, touching his cheek with a half-smile.

"For being an unemotional bastard for most of my life," he offered, smiling back and covering her hand with his own. "When was the last time we spent a day together?"

She raised a brow. "My son, are you considering leaving your work to stay with me for an entire day?"

"And night, and possibly tomorrow."

She laughed. "What's gotten into you?" she wondered aloud.

His mind wandered back to Inuyasha. For ages, he hadn't had to worry about Inuyasha's untimely death, because Inuyasha had a mission to complete in decades' time. Now he had just another three years left before he would waste away. It got Sesshomaru thinking that not everyone was as immortal as they thought.

Especially not his mother. She had maybe another century in her before it ended. All the more reason to take a few days off and see if he can't keep her happy.

She must have noticed his expression change. With a gentle smile, she cupped his face and said, "How long are you willing to spend with your dear old mother?"

How does "forever" sound? He shook that thought off. "Oh, a few years, at least," he teased lightly.

She laughed again. "Three days. I won't let you waste time for longer than that."

He could almost hear her tsk. "Wasting time? This Sesshomaru? Never." He took her hand and gestured the door. "Where would my Mother like to go? The sky is the limit for technology only."

"I don't know when you grew so kind," she said, looking up at him, "but Inuyasha and Rin have my thanks."

** Kagome, A Few Weeks Later **

She sighed lightly, curled up on her bed. Being late at night, she was prepped for bed and now only had to wait for Inuyasha to return. He was bathing, something he did much more of late, but before that, he'd made sure that Kagome was happy. Which is why she was smiling and still blushing a little. She wouldn't have thought that she'd be so easily pleased, but she was – at least where Inuyasha was concerned.

A few kisses, a couple nuzzles, and a rub on the hip and Kagome was all grins. She was sure it was feeding his ego, but to his credit he wasn't showing it. Not that she would have minded, really; in her eyes, he was incredibly cute when he tried to be macho. It's because she knows how sweet he really is.

More or less alert to his presence made her sit up a moment before he entered her room. She had a smile for him, and as he was doing somewhat often of late, he was dressed in more modern clothes. Sweat pants and a sleeveless t-shirt weren't all that different from his usual ensemble, so it was his preferred choice.

And he looked damn sexy in it, too. She wasn't sure why, maybe it had something to do with how he still looked uncomfortable and shy in clothes he wasn't used to. . . but then, maybe it was the way she looked at him. In the few weeks' time he'd been spending more often in modern clothes than his own, he told her that she had a "look" which she gave him whenever he was in something she liked.

Maybe it was because of the fact that he was wearing something else, period. Or the first time she saw him in modern clothes. . . when he came waltzing down the stairs with a shirt over one arm and his hair still wet. Sometimes she had pleasant dreams about that instance, such as he tossing the towel away, leaving his hair mostly wet, and ending with her sitting on the table and their mouths locked.

It left her at odds with herself. On the one hand, naughty dreams weren't exactly a weird thing for someone in a relationship to have. On the other, she was just sixteen. Other factors played in, such as her knowing loosely what their future would be like.

"Welcome back," she said, moving aside so he'd have some extra room.

He scratched the side of his head as he came closer, looking more shy than uncomfortable. "And this isn't indecent or anything?" he asked, sitting. "Being in someone else's house in clothes like this?"

"Well, it'd be more indecent if you weren't wearing the boxer shorts mother bought you," she offered, and immediately he glanced away. She snickered. "You're not wearing them, are you?"

He blushed, his bangs covering his eyes. "They feel weird!" he snarled, keeping his head down and his shoulders hunched. "What do you want me to do, deal with it?!"

"It would help," she giggled. He glared at her. "Hey now, you're going to be glad you 'deal with it' as soon as you start wearing things with zippers."

"Zippers?" he echoed, nose scrunching as he thought about it. He paled. "Those could be. . . dangerous?"

"Well. . ." she lowered her voice to a whisper. "It's very possible that a little something could get caught on the zipper's way up."

He jumped up and flailed his arms. "Are you humans crazy?! Who would make something like that?! Why?!"

"The Americans across the Pacific, I think," she replied, getting up and hugging him around his middle. Smiling at him, she said, "It's no problem when you're wearing boxer shorts."

He looked stuck between a rock and a hard place. In the end he sighed wearily and wrapped his arms around her. "Okay, okay, fine! I'll start wearing those blasted _boxer shorts_." She didn't miss the venom on the two words.

"Hey, you're doing it for the safety of all your future children," she laughed.

"That's not funny!" he snapped.

She looked up and saw the fear in his eyes, and immediately she knew she'd made light of something he was extremely worried about. Of course, that made her an insensitive bastard, didn't it? She looked away, feeling ashamed of herself. ". . .Sorry. You know I didn't mean. . ."

He didn't reply, making her only more afraid she'd hit a chord too hard. She could feel from their position how shaky his breathing had become, but his arms were holding her tighter. Trying to read his body language was confusing her, so she looked up.

He was hiding his eyes again, his jaw set and lip curled enough to bare a single fang. Venturing out a little, she stroked his back and whispered his name.

He lifted his chin enough to show his eyes. There was a whole slew of emotions running through his eyes, enough that she couldn't name them, only feel them. It nearly made her blood freeze. He still wasn't saying anything, so she tried again.

"I'm sorry."

He pulled her a little closer, and closed his lips over his fang. ". . .I know," he finally replied.

She dropped her chin and leaned against him, hoping that her obvious want to be close to him would help him forgive her the small accidental comment. In her mind, she was sifting through all the jokes and insults she knew that involved one's child or parent, and put them in a box labeled "Never Ever Speak In Inuyasha's Presence," locking it away and dumping it in a bigger box that read, "Stupid Things To Never Be Done."

She didn't know how long they stood there for, but eventually the moment ended and Inuyasha said, "I forgive you."

How long it took him to say those words made her cold inside, and she clung a little tighter to him. "Thank you. . . We should just. . . go to sleep now," she offered tentatively.

He nodded, his chin brushing her hair. His arms loosened but didn't fully let go, calming the blizzard inside her a little. Almost as one, they moved to lay down and Inuyasha let her go to turn off the lights, then they were cuddled close but neither tired anymore.

". . .Do you have school tomorrow?" he asked.

"No. We can go back and hunt for shards again."

"Okay."

She shut her eyes and started counting backwards from a thousand in her head. It would be slow going, but hopefully it would help calm her nerves and put her to sleep. She knew Inuyasha stayed up until after she nodded off, so essentially both of their rests depended on her falling asleep quickly.

In the back of her mind, she went over the recent goings-on of everyone she knew. Sango and Miroku's wedding date had been set and will commence in four months, during the full moon. Sango wanted it at exactly sunset, so they could watch the stars come out. Likewise, Miroku and many of the men from the village – Inuyasha and Shippou included – began construction of their future house.

Hojo's obsession with her was finally gone entirely, and she actually heard that he was seeing Hisaka of all people. She didn't know the whole story, but after lengthy forgiveness and odd conversations, they grew relaxed around one another, and one day at school Eri informed her that Hojo and Hisaka were seeing each other.

On top of that, Hisaka managed to get transferred _to_ their school. She mentioned something about hate between her teachers and herself, buttering up her parents, pulling a few strings, and now Hisaka wore a uniform of Kagome's school, and even had math class with her. The girl was an absolute genius with numbers and variables and things Kagome could hardly remember, let alone understand, and Hisaka was going out of her way to teach Kagome how to understand it all, too.

The great thing was, Hisaka knew exactly how to translate the numbers into things Kagome could figure out, so it was becoming a little bit easier. Inuyasha, too, tended to lean over her shoulder and follow along. It was embarrassing the first time he figured out an equation that she couldn't get, but it was useful now that he was helping Miroku build his house.

Every week or so she got a call or a visit from Sesshomaru or his company, and found that he'd been keeping tabs on her, Inuyasha, her friends and family. She still visited Dr. Lanes weekly, and after each session she felt a little more like herself. Inuyasha returned to the habit of going inside with her, which Sarah never opposed to anymore.

Kyou's crush on Shippou was relaxing a little, allowing her to play with him instead of hide nearby and blush. Shippou, in return, was enjoying having a playmate besides Kirara, who also tended to play with the two pups.

None of them heard a word from Kikyo since her last visit, but just a short few days ago, Kohaku randomly showed up and spoke to Sango. Kagome didn't know what was said, but he left again shortly after and Sango seemed okay with it. However, she didn't tell Kagome a word about what they talked about.

Souta went out on a limb and brought his girlfriend home a week ago, and everything the two of them did involved staying close and usually holding hands. When Inuyasha thought she wasn't looking, he and Souta gave each other a thumb's up and a grin. She didn't understand what that was all about, but then she wasn't trying to understand every little thing Inuyasha did.

She was at five hundred now, and luckily getting a little drowsy. She moved a little, sliding her arm further up Inuyasha's side. His arms tightened around her a little in return, and she sighed, their earlier trouble almost forgotten. She hoped the entire thing was gone for good, but only time would tell in that category.

Her computer was coming in handy with keeping contact with her friends outside of school and phones, and searching the net helped her with research when she needed it. Inuyasha learned how to work it while she was gone and tended to do little searches about things he was curious about, and every time he learned something interesting, he immediately told her all he knew about it.

She went back to the hospital about two weeks ago and got a check-up physical and some varied questions, finding that not only was she perfectly healthy, but she's healing way faster than usual and had very little time left at this rate before she's as close to how she used to be as she can get. But there was an added comment that since this level of healing wasn't seen in a human before, she might actually be _exactly_ how she used to be by the time it was over.

They were actually suggesting that her hymen was going to heal as well. She didn't think that was possible, at least not without a year's worth of time to spare. She wondered if it meant she was healing a year's worth in less than a quarter's time, in which case she could safely say that she was far from being a normal human anymore.

It made her think that maybe she'd been steadily changing over her time searching for the Shikon No Tama, now more than a year ago. She wouldn't go as far as saying she was becoming something else, like transforming or something, but she was certainly becoming more than human. Perhaps it was her spiritual powers taking hold of her body, or some kind of reaction to her rape gone a bit too far.

Or maybe she was so desperate to be perfect for Inuyasha that her powers were fixing her, and fast. That seemed the most likely reason, perfectly possible, entirely probable, and exactly how she'd want it if she'd been thinking of healing that far and that quickly. Even Dr. Lanes mentioned that her mentality was more than where a woman's usually was after a rape – some women, she said, don't even make it as far as Kagome has already, let alone how quickly.

She said most victims generally need a whole two years, and for her, the trauma _should_ have been much worse, taking more like four or five years, perhaps more. It made her feel more than a little proud of herself, and very grateful for Inuyasha's presence – without him, she was sure she'd still be in the stage where random crying was normal.

At this rate, she'd be perfectly normal by Sango and Miroku's wedding, and that was a very good thing. She wanted to wish them a happy marriage, many well-behaved children, and an exciting wedding night. The latter maybe just to Sango, off to the side. . .

She smiled and reached zero. Her mood successfully refitted for sleep mode, she gave a sigh, relaxed entirely, and called on dreams. It didn't take long for her to fall into her dreamworld, and found herself having more pleasant dreams of Inuyasha in various types and amounts of clothing.

**:End Chapter:**

Way too late, I know. New Age is giving me trouble too. It's like going to college is slowing down everything else; I'm having a hard time drawing as well. To top it off, I officially have a job now, though granted it's a weekend job. Still, this eats up all my days except Sunday, and that's usually when I do all my schoolwork/homework.

I'll try to keep this going, and as you can see, I fastforwarded a bit. I plan on keeping that up, since the bulk of the story is done already and now needs a nice ending, and maybe from there a sequel. . . we'll see.

On another note, I've been trying my hand at animating and comic-drawing. I've also developed a huge interest in Naruto, and have been creating a few female characters here and there to pair off guys who I think wouldn't go well with the girls already shown. I'm up-to-date with Naruto as well, so if you have any questions, ask me or Wikipedia. ;P

Oh, and don't try to go looking for the Naruto fics yet; I haven't posted them. Hell, I haven't done much on them as of yet. I can give any one of you info on the fics, though. If you don't know what Naruto is. . .

. . .You'll just have to die. :D

**:Sends out all Naruto-lovers to kill all my readers who don't know who he is: **Seriously. . . at this point, how could you NOT know? He only has over 200 (Japanese) episodes, and over 300 manga chapters. 332, so far, I believe.

So yeah, if you haven't checked my deviantart gallery in a while, you'll find Naruto stuff there. Or Naruto-related. I actually have two groups of friends who employed my services in filling holes in three-man teams, so I have two of those. One's a man! O.o

Hehe, Didi's so darn adorable.** _:Insert chibi grin here:_**

See ya!


	27. A Few Steps Taken Part 2

"Oy, Kyou-chan," he said.

She opened her eyes and smiled back. "Yeah?"

"Nothing," he replied.

She laughed.

_** Miroku **_

She looked very somber. "I will speak to Sango for you, but you must do something for me in return."

He straightened a little. Kaede wasn't the kind of woman to do an eye for an eye. "What would this task be?"

She smiled.

_** Sesshomaru **_

He could almost hear her tsk. "Wasting time? This Sesshomaru? Never." He took her hand and gestured the door. "Where would my Mother like to go? The sky is the limit for technology only."

"I don't know when you grew so kind," she said, looking up at him, "but Inuyasha and Rin have my thanks."

_** Kagome, A Few Weeks Later **_

She smiled and reached zero. Her mood successfully refitted for sleep mode, she gave a sigh, relaxed entirely, and called on dreams. It didn't take long for her to fall into her dreamworld, and found herself having more pleasant dreams of Inuyasha in various types and amounts of clothing.

_**Fifty Eight (Sango-Miroku Marriage)**_

This was absolutely insane.

Here she was, fidgeting like no tomorrow, tapping her foot and wringing her hands – and she wasn't even the one getting married!

Kagome paced the small hut where she, Sango, and two other ladies from the village awaited. Every now and again she looked down at her digital watch and groaned. What was it about this wedding that was getting to her so much. . ?

She glanced over at Sango, who was looking more than a little content. She sat neatly, eyes shut, sweet smile curving her mouth and no worries on her brow. Dressed in less-than-usual wife garb, it wasn't overheating her or restricting any movement – like it could have, anyway. Still, half the reason Sango wasn't totally decked out is because she didn't have much left; a pretty large portion is made up of gifts from various village mothers. The other reason is that Sango just isn't as traditional as the other ladies, which is just as it should be, really.

What worried Kagome most was that Kirara up and left a few hours ago. She didn't know where the firecat went, but wherever, it was surely taking a long time. The look on Sango's face hinted that there was nothing to fear, but it didn't stop Kagome from pacing.

"You really need to calm down," Sango told her.

How strange this was: Kagome, about ready to rip her hair out, while Sango is sitting peacefully, quietly, perfectly serene. The bride should be nervous, and Kagome – the priestess – should be the one radiating calm. On the other hand, since when was Kagome a full-fledged priestess? Powers and natural acceptance don't exactly count when barred against serenity and near-constant prayers.

"I know, I know, I know!" Kagome half-whined. She stopped and faced Sango. "Aren't you nervous at all?"

"What's there to be nervous about?" Sango replied, opening her eyes. "Miroku and I have been waiting a long time for this. . . and neither of us were really willing to wait. I'm excited, Kagome-chan. . ." Her smile grew into a grin. "He made a house for us and everything."

From the light in Sango's eyes, it was fairly obvious that she thought no one was more magnificent than Miroku. Kagome couldn't help but feel great love and happiness for her friend; truly, Sango was as close as any sister. She smiled despite being nervous. "I'm sorry, Sango, I really should be more supportive. I just hope that my own marriage will put me in such a good mood as you."

Sango raised a brow at her. "Oh? Planning it already?"

Kagome blushed. "Well, no, but. . . it's bound to happen and. . . Stop teasing me!" she moaned, turning her back to Sango and trying to hide her burning cheeks under her hands. "Seriously, I never teased you about Miroku!"

"That's because I'm the big sister," Sango pointed out. "I get to tease you all I like."

As a new thought hit her, Kagome looked over her shoulder at Sango. "Oh? Did you tease Kohaku so badly?"

Sango's smile became infinitely more serene at the mention of her brother. "No. Little brothers are different from little sisters, after all."

"I know how that goes," Kagome giggled. "I know they're different ages, but if Souta and Kohaku are anything alike. . . you can expect Kohaku to start making fun of your clothes and favorite food."

Sango giggled. "Believe it or not, he already has."

"Really?" Kagome knelt in front of her friend. "When? What'd he say?"

"He was five," Sango began, "and the first time he saw me in my uniform, he pointed out how bad pink and black look together, and that I looked nothing like father did."

Kagome giggled at that. She was working on a reply when she heard Inuyasha outside the mat door.

"Oy, Kagome. We're ready out here. Just waiting for you four now."

"Thank you, Inuyasha," she called back. The butterflies she'd been feeling returned with a vengeance. She looked over at Sango. "Ready?"

Sango stood up, and the two ladies from the village helped steady her. "Let's go."

Kagome turned to the mat and brushed it aside, holding it open for Sango to pass through.

_** Inuyasha **_

Miroku was about as nervous as a worm staring a bird in the face. Though he tried not to show it, he was doing basically the same thing Inuyasha tended to do whenever Kagome wasn't around. He tapped his feet, wrung his hands, shook a hand or a foot, sat down, stood up, paced. . .

"Oy! Quit that already!" Inuyasha snapped at him.

A show to his anxiety, Miroku immediately jumped and stuttered something about being perfect and Sango's heart.

"Geez, what the hell's your problem, monk?!" he all but yelled. "You can't tell me you haven't been looking forward to this."

"Of course I have!" Miroku shot back. "But Sango. . . I just. . . Argh I can't get my thoughts straight!" he groaned, messing up his hair as he rubbed his skull.

Inuyasha rolled his eyes and strode over to Miroku, forcing him to sit and trying to rearrange his hair back the way it was. "Look, why don't you try counting? Kagome says that always works."

"Count, to what number?" Miroku blurted. "I can only count so high! And we're running out of time before it – it starts! OW!"

Inuyasha had yanked a little hard on a lock of hair. "Count to one hundred." Finished putting it all back, he stepped aside and watched a moment to make sure Miroku was counting as he'd said.

He saw Miroku's lips mouth the words and turned his back. People were still moving around outside, setting up things and moving things, getting into their specified places – he could hear the rucket of their steps and sounds of objects being dragged to where they belong. He could ever hear Kaede out there, giving orders and breathing a little harder than usual.

He was sure of it now. For the past few weeks, it'd been on his mind that Kaede's age is finally catching up to her, and it seems he was right. It made him feel oddly scared, like the feeling he'd had when he knew something was terribly wrong with his mother, only less severe. There was no panic this time, no fear that he was going to be alone very soon, but it didn't stop the feeling in his gut that he was going to miss her.

Still, he could wait one day to speak with her. After all, today was Miroku and Sango's wedding – a day to celebrate, not pine. He wasn't very good at pining in his opinion, anyway. He counted as he waited now, watching everything as the finishing touches were added, until everything was settled and perfectly ready to go. He hoped Kagome and Sango were done getting prepared, too.

"Inuyasha," Kaede called – perhaps her voice was a bit weaker than his memories provided – and he crossed over to her. "You can fetch Sango-san now. I'll make sure Miroku-sama doesn't pull his hair out." She chuckled lightly and watched as Miroku sweat and shook his leg uncontrollably.

Inuyasha glanced over at Miroku and couldn't help but smirk. "You have nothing to worry about," he told the monk before he left. "You know Sango loves you."

Miroku gave him a shaky smile in return, his expression saying he appreciated the confidence, even if his mouth couldn't.

Inuyasha chuckled, shaking his head, and walked over to the bride's hut, listening for a moment. Kagome and Sango were talking about their little brothers, and he heard Kagome giggle. It made him smile. It'd been just a half a year or so since "the incident," and she seemed to have recovered entirely. It made him want to tease her about it, but no way was he about to tease her about a _good_ thing.

"Oy," he called, "Kagome. We're ready out here. Just waiting for you four now."

"Thank you, Inuyasha," Kagome's voice filtered back. Then, to Sango, "Ready?"

And last, Sango's voice and the rustling of clothing, "Let's go."

_And get married,_ he added silently. Kagome opened the mat door.

_I wish you only the best,_ Inuyasha and Kagome thought in unison, to both Sango and Miroku.

Sango stepped out of the hut, Miroku saw her, and they smiled at one another. That simple smile they shared could have very well been the entire ceremony, granting them married status from the love in their gazes – love so thick you could almost feel it.

As though drawn by that feeling, Kagome met Inuyasha's eyes, and they too shared a smile – a secret smile, just for them.

_** Later **_

Married, bound, united, as one, fated, husband and wife, together forever, even _mated_ – these are all terms meaning the very same thing. Very simply, it means that you and your partner are stuck with each other, hopefully out of love and deep attraction. And very simply, it is inescapable, for even divorce doesn't strike from the record the fact that the two of you were once married, living together, and had children from the union, if you're lucky.

The bond is unbreakable for those whose souls are connected, united at the very core of your beings, tied by the red string of fate for all time. For some, marriage isn't a prerequisite for your lives together, and neither is it necessary for you to know each other and each other's families well. They can call it "love at first sight," but it's the realization of that love, not the creation of it, that you feel.

For Sango and Miroku, it wasn't "love at first sight." For them, it was an odd companionship, strengthened but the love they felt, unbeknownst to their conscious state of mind. It kept them together through thick and thin, until at last they knew what it was they were feeling, and finally they admitted it. Through that admittance, marriage was merely the next step in a whole new book of their lives, one that they hope will end in many children and a peaceful death.

For Kagome and Inuyasha, it was far more amazing.

Inuyasha, shunned by everyone he knew for the majority of his life, save that of his mother and later, Kikyou. Hard-bitten by the cold shoulder of humanity and the extreme prejudice of full-blooded demons, there was no place for him in the world he was living, and so he made his own world – if only to hold on to his sanity. Meeting Kagome and staying with her confused him as his emotions couldn't deal with love again so soon, making him angry and testy. Yet he still couldn't deny his feelings, rushing to save her at every turn, even from things that couldn't do harm, such as a volleyball. Once he opened his heart again, he found that Kagome had already nestled comfortable there and gave in without a fight.

Kagome, normal as can be, maybe a bit wishful off to the side, who was thrown into this story against her will. Though it may have been frightening, confusing, and dreamlike in the beginning, as she wished for nothing more than to return to her normal life, it didn't stay so. As she grew accustomed to being in Sengoku Jidai, she also became accustomed to being around Inuyasha, daily. Knowledge of his past love and that she is the reincarnation of that love only made her uncomfortable at first, but love knows no bounds. Like Kikyou, she fell for the one-of-a-kind hanyou and has never looked back.

For Sesshomaru, however, his love life was far more complicated. First he had a human mate, who taught him even more effectively than Rin that humans were more than just _capable _of loving. They were capable of changing a person, totally and completely, if the two of them worked well enough together. Sesshomaru had loved her, admittedly, unabashedly, and had nearly died himself when she had. It was pure luck that it didn't take long for her to reincarnate, as a demon this time, able to live with him for as long as time permitted.

Even Shippou and Kyou are feeling the pulls of matrimony. Young as they are, they are not mere children, older than most humans live beyond despite their looks. The two were already starting to feel deeply for each other, though neither is willing to admit it just yet.

Hojo and Hisaka have been bonding fairly nicely. Both of them seem to have put their desires and demons behind them, leaving them bare to one another. They talk to each other a lot, give gifts and visit often, becoming an entirely-human version of Kagome and Inuyasha's relationship. So far, neither of them are showing any signs of becoming less interested.

Motsumoto and Akira seem to be having an odd relationship, too. Higaru wants to prove his worth to Akira, and Akira is getting a little more than just friendly while teaching him.

With Naraku defeated and the jewel close to being rid of completely, the entire planet – in both eras – seems to be calm and feeling extra nice. Kagome and Inuyasha left Miroku and Sango to enjoying their wedding night and returned to her time, and the first thing they did was go to Kagome's room and snuggle on her bed.

Normally, Inuyasha isn't a "snuggle" kind of guy, but this time, it was just as soothing for him as for Kagome. They stayed very still for a very long time, talking from time to time, until the both of them began dozing. Kagome woke the next morning in her bed, warm and comfortable, and found that Inuyasha had already risen. For a few more minutes, she simply remained in bed, and smiled.

_** Inuyasha **_

He stared in stunned surprise in front of him.

He'd left Kagome's room early to make his usual rounds around the shrine, though granted lately he'd been forgetting, and stopped dead at the scent that hit his nose. Standing in front of him was two people, male and female, cleverly diguised but still obviously demon to his nose.

". . .So," he began, "you two made it. . ?"

Shippou laughed, rubbing the back of his head. "Yeah. Hey, is Kagome-nokaasan awake yet? She usually is, yeah?"

Inuyasha nodded slowly, still finding it hard to believe that the man in front of him was once the perky, prankster whelp. He'd certainly grown up, that's for sure. Shippou now had short hair, a little long in the back and at the bangs, and stood tall and proud and quite strong. A total turn-around from how he was as a boy.

And next to him was Kyou, fully grown, wearing a spotless, wrinkle-less kimono of pure white, just like she used to as a tiny tot. She wasn't as tall as Shippou, reaching just above his shoulder, with her hair's length hidden behind her back. She still had one blue eye and one brown one, which Inuyasha half-expected to change over the years, by chance or by choice.

Noticing he was looking at her, Kyou smiled and waved shyly. "It's been a while since we last saw you, Inuyasha-sama," she started. "Well, the other you," she added.

Shippou was taller than Inuyasha now, which Inuyasha wasn't very happy about. Shippou made this clear when he stepped forward and patted Inuyasha on the head, grinning in the mischievious way that only Shippou could do.

"So, Inu-chan," he teased, "where is my kaasan?"

Inuyasha practically burst into flames.

_** Kagome **_

She came running downstairs when she recognized the sounds of battle going on outside, and found that her family had already made a small audience just outside the house. Inuyasha was in the air, in the midst of a jump, Tessaiga drawn and aimed at a young man. . . who shouldn't be up that high unless Inuyasha tossed him.

Her eyes blurred at she looked at him, catching only a few details about him from this distance. No matter how much she blinked and squinted, the blur didn't go away. She was about to question why Inuyasha was attacking the boy when Souta interrupted her, cheering Inuyasha on like an adoring little brother would.

"Inuyasha!" she yelled, half worried and half angered. What was going on, and why was it hard to see all of a sudden?

"Kagome?" a soft voice asked.

She looked to her left and saw a gorgeous young woman wearing a pristine kimono, with long black hair and different-colored eyes. She carried a fan in her hand. . .

"Kyou-chan?!" Kagome asked, shocked.

The woman nodded, smiling. She looked up at the battle in the sky, saying, "That's Shippou-kun."

Shippou looked down when he heard his name and waved at Kagome, yelling, "Kagome-nokaasan!"

Inuyasha took the chance and punched Shippou in the cheek. Shippou recoiled from the hit and did a one-eighty, landing directly in front of Kagome and looking unscathed. He took one big sprint towards Kagome and then hugged her tight around the waist.

Kagome was still stunned at seeing a grown-up version of Shippou and Kyou, but managed to snap out of it quick enough. Inuyasha was glaring at Shippou a few steps away, and Souta was going half nuts, pulling on Shippou's arm.

"Hey you, let go of my sister!" he yelled. "Inuyasha-noniisan is going to kick your _ass_!"

"Souta!" Kagome scolded at the same time as Mama. She hugged Shippou in return, then released him and explained about his and Kyou's relationship to her. Meanwhile, Shippou flexed behind her, Inuyasha reprimanded the now-grown kitsune, and Kyou made a graceful bow towards Mama. At the end, Kagome looked over her shoulder and saw Shippou's head trapped in Inuyasha's arms, fighting futilely.

"Inuyasha!" she snapped. Inuyasha released Shippou after a moment, and Shippou tried to make it look as though he'd _allowed_ that scene to happen.

"Oh!" Shippou said, and jogged up to Kagome again. "I found them!" he said with a huge grin.

"Who?" was all Kagome could say.

"Well," Kyou added, "technically the _other_ Inuyasha-sama found them first, but I don't think he knows."

"Knows what?" Kagome asked, now befuddled.

"Miroku and Sango's reincarnations!" Shippou boasted loudly. "I forgot their family names, but they're Higaru-san and Akira-chan! Isn't it great?"

"Higaru-san?" Kagome echoed, feeling like she'd heard that name before. Nothing immediately came to mind.

Grandpa joined in with, "Higaru. . . Motsumoto?"

"That's it!" Shippou agreed.

"You know him?" Kagome turned to her Grandpa.

"He was in the papers," Grandpa began, nodding as he thought. "He was chasing after the, uh. . . _criminals'_ killer. Now he moved precincts and probably got a cushy job for it."

_** Higaru **_

He'd never been in so much pain in his _life._ Even his previous wife hadn't been so rough on him. Akira's training was making him feel like his body was about to fall apart, yet he couldn't deny his improvements.

For one, he can draw his new put-a-hole-through-anything gun twice as fast as when he first handled it. For two, he was getting much stronger, able to last in hand-to-hand battles better than before. And for three, it seemed Akira was becoming worried about her rank in the best shooter in the business. Well, maybe not the _business,_ but she was certainly the best at the office.

His new bosses weren't so bad, trying mostly to make sure that he'll survive fairly easily out there when the time comes. His job has now been described to him fully, his soon-to-be title being "Demon Hunter," which is literally as it sounds. He wasn't being ordered to do anything except track and spot the demons. The rest, it seemed, was up to the rest of his team.

Meaning the only reason why he was being trained is for backup insurance, in case the battle comes to _him_ and he has to fight as well. They wouldn't want him to be a liability, so he too needs to have the skills of the Demon Exterminators.

What bothers him most is that phrase, "Demon Exterminator." He keeps thinking he's heard it before, and he doesn't like it much. The only thing he could come up with as to "why" is perhaps he heard it as a little boy, maybe on a show, and it got to him. For whatever reason, he simply didn't want to be an Exterminator, and neither did he want anyone he knew to be an exterminator.

_** Kagome **_

"You found their reincarnations?" she repeated. They were all sitting inside now, around the table in the middle of the room, though Mama and Grandpa went about their chores and duties. Souta seemed highly interested in Shippou and Kyou, mostly because of their tails – hidden from most humans' sights but open to Kagome. As they entered the house, they took off their charms that hid their demon attributes, leaving Souta to "ooh" and "aw" in wonder.

Shippou grinned hugely. "Yeah. Kyou-chan and I have been trying to find them for a long time, ever since they died."

"That was. . . really sad," Kyou added to herself, opening her fan and hiding her face behind it.

Kagome glanced over at Inuyasha in question, wondering if something bad happened to Sango and Miroku, or if the pups just took it really hard. When she looked back over at Kyou, Shippou was hugging her lightly, and her face was hidden behind his neck.

". . .How did they die?" Kagome asked, almost holding her breath.

"Seperately," Shippou began, his tone much more somber than before. "See, after you and your baby died, and Inuyasha went insane – don't look at me like that, you _did_ – Sango and Miroku took it upon themselves to try and protect the village. They had three kids about the time Sango started getting grey hairs, and then this demon attacked. . ." He shook his head. "She wasn't what she used to be, and neither was Miroku. They fought, but Sango died. Not directly from the battle, but from afterwards; her wounds wouldn't stop bleeding."

Kyou lifted her head and sighed. "Miroku swore a lot after that, swearing at Inuyasha-sama for leaving and not even trying to keep his priorities straight. The only thing that kept Miroku from going mad is that he had his three sons, and he kept reminding himself that the village still needed a protector. But still, he died years later, angry at Inuyasha-sama still and wishing Sango had never been a Demon Exterminator to begin with."

Kagome looked over at Inuyasha again, and met his expressionless gaze with her own sorrowful one. "Well. . . we can make sure that doesn't happen."

"You can't change the past," Shippou interrupted her. "What you did, going through the well, you were just walking with it. The future would have turned out this way, even if you weren't there to be part of its making."

"Then am I doomed?" she asked, hearing her voice break.

"No!" Inuyasha snapped, turning her face towards his again. "You are _not_ doomed! He said the past can't be changed; he said nothing of the future!"

"My future, when I died in the past?"

"Damn it, woman, I'll kill the Fates if I have to, but I'm not losing you! Hell is going to feel some intense wrath if they want to take you from me," he added in a dangerous growl.

"Believe him," Shippou said. "I've been around him longer than you; Inuyasha really could take on Hell and live to tell it."

". . .Then why didn't he last time?" she said quietly.

"Ask him," Kyou told her. "Go talk to him and find out."

Kagome sat back, feeling quiet both on the outside and in, unable to lift her gaze to Inuyasha's at the moment. She knew he was worried about her, but at the moment, there was little she could do about it. Maybe later she'd come back to herself and find this entire talk of her death was pointless, but until then, she felt like thinking.

_**:End Chapter:**_

Long time coming, much?

I really should update faster, and I know that, but right now I have more on my plate than ever before. I have longer school hours, an online class, and now a job which is mainly a late-night weekend shift. My art teacher is demanding more of her students than last semester, which in turn is making me hate drawing more than ever before – don't forget that you can't love or hate something without having the other.

Slightly bigger explanation: Always before, I loved drawing and only hated it when pictures wouldn't come out right. Now I love it more, but also hate it more, since now I have vague assignments with a wide range of ideas to use, making it that much more frustrating to do the work.

My online class is a Creative Writing one, and I've been pulling out my hair trying to put together a workable story based on stats I made. These stats are for a game I'm wishing to create, or help create, including a script for the storyline, quests, alignment changes, level-up stats, titles for each playable character that change based on alignment, and now an 80's style book that lets you pick your own route through the game.

Right now that book is very simple, but as it turns out, putting together this game is becoming much more difficult than it started. I'm not very good with drawing maps, but now I need several of them. If anyone wants to read the character sheet I made (it explains how to customize your character at the very beginning) let me know.

On another subject, New Age is going very slow. I didn't think that when I started it, it was going to get very complicated, but now it is. Without a solid plot line, I just kind of think of it at random times and write down whatever comes to mind. I have, however, discovered exactly how to write out the New Age Language they speak. Yay for that: )

I suppose that's the end of the notes. I'll ask you really nicely not to beg for me to update soon. At first it was awesome to know people want more of my fics, but now it adds pressure that I really don't need. I'll update when ideas come in strongly and I have enough time to write it.

See ya!


	28. A Few Steps Taken Final

Sango stood up, and the two ladies from the village helped steady her. "Let's go."

Kagome turned to the mat and brushed it aside, holding it open for Sango to pass through.

_** Inuyasha **_

Sango stepped out of the hut, Miroku saw her, and they smiled at one another. That simple smile they shared could have very well been the entire ceremony, granting them married status from the love in their gazes – love so thick you could almost feel it.

As though drawn by that feeling, Kagome met Inuyasha's eyes, and they too shared a smile – a secret smile, just for them.

_** Inuyasha **_

"So, Inu-chan," he teased, "where is my kaasan?"

Inuyasha practically burst into flames.

_** Kagome **_

"You know him?" Kagome turned to her Grandpa.

"He was in the papers," Grandpa began, nodding as he thought. "He was chasing after the, uh. . . _criminals'_ killer. Now he moved precincts and probably got a cushy job for it."

_** Higaru **_

What bothers him most is that phrase, "Demon Exterminator." He keeps thinking he's heard it before, and he doesn't like it much. The only thing he could come up with as to "why" is perhaps he heard it as a little boy, maybe on a show, and it got to him. For whatever reason, he simply didn't want to be an Exterminator, and neither did he want anyone he knew to be an exterminator.

_** Kagome **_

". . .Then why didn't he last time?" she said quietly.

"Ask him," Kyou told her. "Go talk to him and find out."

Kagome sat back, feeling quiet both on the outside and in, unable to lift her gaze to Inuyasha's at the moment. She knew he was worried about her, but at the moment, there was little she could do about it. Maybe later she'd come back to herself and find this entire talk of her death was pointless, but until then, she felt like thinking.

_**Fifty Nine**_

All dark thoughts of death and insanity were put aside and forgotten over time, Kagome instead thinking of the more positive things she knew were to come. Once the jewel was once again perfectly complete, she found her mind blank on an idea to get rid of it for good, until Inuyasha came up with a suggestion.

Now at seventeen and a half, the journey to get the shards taking much longer now that Naraku wasn't gathering them as well, spending the time half between both eras and watching Sango become pregnant and have her first son, she felt her life become more tightly bound to the Earth. She no longer had any worries about her possible future death or that of her future daughter, leaving her mind calm and devoid of turmoil.

Shippou and Kyou visited often, she still received visits from Sesshomaru and various trusted underlings of his, and even Hojo and Hisaka had become part of her best friends. Hell, she even met Higaru and Akira – and Shippou immediately burst out with their previous incarnations, explaining their connections.

To which Higaru said, "Well, that explains why I didn't try harder to kill Inuyasha," and changed the subject.

Her schoolwork was going excellently now that she had Hisaka as a tutor, quickly catching up on her missing work and in fact excelling. It was a signal that her life's difficult times were finally almost over right about that time, and was proven when the jewel was whole once more.

And Inuyasha gave her the idea of instead making a wish, to give the Shikon no Tama back to Midoriko. When she asked him how he suggested to do that, he said to put her heart back where it belongs, and it was such a smart idea that she nearly slapped herself for not thinking it.

On the down side, Sesshomaru randomly appeared at the village with Rin, Ah-Un and Jaken. Sesshomaru claimed it was along the way to whatever his destination was, but considering Rin looked overjoyed at seeing Kagome again, it was fairly obvious that Rin had pleaded to come see them and Sesshomaru had given in.

Jaken immediately looked around and sighed. "This is the most pitiful human gathering I've ever seen!" he blurted.

Instantly, Inuyasha was towering over the tiny demon and said quietly, "What was that?" with a highly dangerous air about him.

Jaken just about shrieked and backed up, or tried to. Inuyasha snatched him up by the back of his kimono, caught the toad's hand when he tried to use his staff as a weapon, and said, "Get one thing straight, okay? This is the village _I_ protect, and that means if you have anything bad to say about it, you have a problem with _me._"

Judging from the way Sesshomaru didn't seem bothered by Inuyasha threatening his underling, it seemed he either agreed with Inuyasha having a village to protect, or knew Inuyasha wasn't really going to put the toad through much harm.

Or it could be he was distracted by watching over Rin, who was currently trading flower wreaths with Kagome and asking questions about Sango's newborn son. Miroku had Inuyasha drop Jaken and successfully diffused the situation, while Kaede boldly approached Sesshomaru and asked his name.

"Sesshomaru," he answered her.

She replied, "I am Kaede, the elder of this village. If you should have any reason to bring yourself here again, please speak to me about the matter."

No acknowledgment was a good thing from Sesshomaru, which Kaede seemed to understand, for she stepped back, turned and walked away to check on Sango and her son. In the meantime a handful of boys noticed Ah-Un up the hill and climbed up to get a closer look. Ah-Un was fairly laid-back towards humans, if only because of Rin, but Inuyasha didn't trust the dragon quite enough to let the boys touch him.

So when one of the kids reached up to touch one of his necks, Inuyasha barked out, "Oy, I wouldn't do that!"

The boy snatched his hand back and yelled, "Well, why not?"

"Cause that's a _dragon_, baka!" He came a few steps closer to the boys and lowered his voice. "Besides which, the owner of Ah-Un here is a total hard-ass," he added while gesturing his head towards Sesshomaru.

Though he more than likely heard despite the distance, Sesshomaru gave no inkling that he heard Inuyasha's comment, which could very well be a testament to his newfound patience and tolerance.

"Then," one of the boys started, "would you let us ride on your back?"

"Ehh?" Inuyasha blurted, looking dumbfounded.

"Yeah!" the boys cheered.

"N-no way!" Inuyasha snapped. "Uh uh, not gonna happen!"

"Why not?" several of the boys whined.

"The only person allowed to have a back ride on me is Kagome, got that?!"

"Like hell!" another of the boys snapped back and tried to climb up anyway. Though the boys were young and half Inuyasha's size, there were nearly a dozen of them and Inuyasha didn't want to hurt any of them in the process of shoving them off.

So instead he threw a pleading look to Kagome while trying to escape their clutches. Kagome smiled at him from far away, then walked up – at a slow pace, at that – and said, "Now now, boys, stop it."

The boys instantly stopped in place, whatever pose they were in, and locked eyes on Kagome. "But," they began.

"No," she stated, firmly, though she was smiling still. Upon reaching them all, she knelt down to their height. "Now see here, if Inuyasha tells you 'no,' you best listen and obey, got that?"

"Why should we?" one of the boys blurted.

"Yeah, he should be strong enough to play all day," another chimed in.

"What's wrong with getting back rides?" a third added.

"Maybe you should take a thought towards what he does all day long," she tried. "Whenever something attacks, who's the first one to jump into battle and keep it from reaching all you boys?"

They looked ashamed now, dropping their heads and backing off Inuyasha to stand in a sad group. "Inuyasha," they answered.

"You know he protects this entire village, right?" Kagome was still saying. "Whether you're awake or asleep, so you know you should show him respect, right?"

They all nodded.

"If you want him to play, ask, but don't force," she finished.

Inuyasha, at first, had sighed a breath of relief that she got them to relinquish their holds. Now, he stared at her in surprise. "Play?" he echoed. He shook his head to block out the memories of his youth from reaching the surface.

One of the boys ran off and came back with a red ball the size of his head and kicked it towards Inuyasha. Reflexively, he reached up and caught it before it sailed over his head, and the boys cheered and moved into a circle, Inuyasha included. When he looked down to question Kagome, she had backed off and a tiny boy was now standing there.

"Kick!" one of the boys said excitedly.

"Just don't kick it too hard," Kagome warned from a few feet away.

Inuyasha stared at the ball in his hands for a long moment before he smiled and dropped it. As it fell, he lifted his foot and tapped it, sending it in a slow arch across to the boy in front of him. Right around this time he heard a little girl's voice say, "Can I play, too?"

He looked over and saw a happy-looking Rin standing there, eyes on Inuyasha.

"I don't see why not," he told her.

"No way!" one of the boys snapped, and others joined in.

"A girl?"

"Why would we let you play?"

"This is a boy's game!"

"Girls can't do this stuff!"

"Oy!" Inuyasha snapped, before Rin started to cry. She already looked hurt enough. "Give me one reason why a girl can't kick a ball."

The boys looked at one another before one of them said, "Girls aren't meant to do this stuff."

"Did you forget about Sango?" Kagome asked, still nearby. "What about me; would you say I can't play?"

The boys, once more, looked humbled. Grudgingly, they moved aside to make room for Rin to fit in. But before she joined, she looked over her shoulder and said, "Sesshomaru-sama, can I play with them?"

Sesshomaru didn't much react beyond glancing in her direction. But Rin seemed to understand his unspoken words, for she waved and called out, "Okay, I'll be careful!" Then she turned around and stepped into the circle.

The boy who was holding the ball kicked it in her direction. At first Rin ducked and covered her head, Inuyasha reached out to snatch the ball, and put it back in play with a worried glance at Kagome.

Kagome knelt down behind Rin and began coaching her, so the next time the ball came Rin's way, she managed to kick it – wobbily – and the ball continued its rounds. After a few minutes, Rin didn't need Kagome's help anymore, and the circle grew when Shippou and Kyou joined. Now with roughly fifteen members, it was a huge circle, to the point where adults from around glanced at the group from time to time with smiles.

Miroku was invited to join, but he turned them down, saying that his job now is to watch over his wife and son. He did, however, promise that when his son is old enough, he'd join the game.

Rin and Sesshomaru ended up staying until nightfall, when Rin was invited to dinner made by Kaede and Sango. Though Sesshomaru had been steadily looking less and less neutral about being in a human village, he didn't argue or tell her she had to leave.

About halfway through dinner, a handful of villagers – mainly men – angrily showed up and stupidly ordered Sesshomaru to get out of their village.

At first Sesshomaru outright ignored them, until Rin stood up for him. She got up, putting her bowl down, and saying, "You can't tell Sesshomaru-sama what to do, I don't care who you are!"

"Peace," Kaede said then, lifting a hand to gain attention to herself. "I do not wish to see any battles within my village."

"We've tolerated these demons all day now, we want them out!" a man stated firmly.

Kagome stood up. "Does that mean Shippou, Kyou, Kirara and even Inuyasha are no longer welcome?"

"Ah, no," one of them started.

"What harm are they causing?" Inuyasha asked from his place.

"I haven't seen any of them lift a finger in anger," Sango added.

"The way of peace must be achieved by demons and humans alike," Miroku was saying.

"It doesn't change the fact that they are corrupting our children!" a man yelled.

Sesshomaru now stood and glared in the man's direction. The entire group shrunk back as he advanced on them, but instead of attacking or even speaking to them, he merely stopped in front of them and stared down the man directly in front of him.

Everyone nearby was watching now. The man holding Sesshomaru's gaze was shivering but remaining firm despite the fact that he was breaking out in sweat already. At length Rin trotted over to them and tugged on one of the men's hakama, making him glance down at her.

And she said, "Respect is two-way."

Inuyasha laughed at that, standing up. "That's exactly right." He stood on Sesshomaru's opposite side and said to the group, "How much hell did I have to go through before you guys trusted me, huh?"

"You're different!" one of the men from the back called out. "You're just a hanyou, after all."

"Just?" Kagome echoed. "After all this time, you see him as 'just' a hanyou?"

Every single man except the one holding Sesshomaru's gaze glanced in another direction. That particular man said, "It doesn't matter."

"Oy!" Inuyasha snapped.

Kagome walked right past Inuyasha, shouldered by Sesshomaru and grabbed the man by his ear. He looked confused for a split second before she tugged. The man was instantly following her movements, and no one was helping him. She dragged him a few steps away from the crowd, but didn't let go of his ear.

"Na, Kagome-sama, stop, stop!" he pleaded.

Rather than let her anger take over her, she gave the man a hurt look and let go of his ear at last. She had his full attention now, as she said, "Why is it so hard to learn to trust?"

The man obviously thought highly of her, and judging by his blush, he might also have a crush on her. "I, uh, that is. . ." he stammered.

In the background, she heard Inuyasha chuckle and gave him a look that told him to come and demonstrate trust with her. He stepped closer, his eyes alight with ways to try and show how deep their trust goes. When he stopped in front of her, Kagome held out her hand. She said, "Break one of my fingers."

The men all around gasped, and even Inuyasha looked shocked. As the villagers began stammering – they were, after all, under the impression that whatever Kagome told Inuyasha to do was done – Shippou cried out and jumped on Inuyasha, biting him. He yelled repeatedly, "Don't you dare hurt Kagome, Inuyasha! Meanie! You don't care, do you?!"

Inuyasha had been struggling with the kit and finally pried him off, holding the pup at arm's length. "Oy, I ain't gonna break her finger, you idiot!"

The villagers sighed with relief, and Kagome withdrew her hand. Looking down at the man at her feet, she said, "Get it, now? Don't look at me like that. Inuyasha and I both knew he wasn't going to break my finger – no matter if I told him to, or not. That's the kind of trust I've been trying to show you."

At a tug on her skirt, Kagome looked down and spotted Rin, whose eyes were watering, but she wasn't crying just yet. With a sniffle, she said, "You scared me, Kagome! I thought Inuyasha was really going to do it!"

With a twitch of her lips, Kagome finally got the drift of just how much everyone thought Inuyasha was under her control. "That. . . do any of you really believe that Inuyasha does what I say, when I say, how I say?" At the murmurs and nods following her statement, she could just stare, her mouth open. "And why do you think that?" she blurted, glancing at Inuyasha and noting he, too, looked shocked.

"Well, the prayer beads control him, right?" one of the men began.

"No," Kagome shot down in an instant. "The beads are like reprimands; they're not a choke collar!"

"Pretty damn close," Inuyasha muttered, tugging on the beads absently.

Kagome glared at him. "Lucky for you, your manners have evened out nicely, or you'd still be getting faceplants three times a day."

He fumed in response. "Oh yeah? I betcha they wouldn't do a damn thing when you're out of earshot!"

"Oh, you're threatening to leave now, are you?!"

"It'd be a nice vacation from your kami-damned strangehold!"

In reply, Kagome cried out in anger. Squaring her shoulders, she raised her voice and said, "Like living with you around all the time is a reprieve?!"

"It's better than getting a face full of dirt – and _concrete – _whenever you damn please!"

"Oh, if I had a single cruel bone in my body, you'd be getting an upgrade of those prayer beads within three days, you insensitive, disrespectful, childish, stupid _bastard!_" she all but yelled at the end.

The both of them were panting, glaring at each other strong enough to melt boulders, neither willing to give an inch. Their first real fight in weeks and it was here, in Inuyasha's time, in front of his brother, during an argument about trust, and with villagers within earshot. In fact, several people had heard the ruckus and come to see what was going on, making a crowd.

Still, even though name-calling and insults had been a part of the fight, neither Kagome nor Inuyasha stepped too far over the line. The two of them gradually controlled their breathing, though they still refused to end the glare between them. It was almost a battle of dominance more than a battle of wills, both absolutely refusing to budge an inch.

Until a woman screamed from the crowd and pointed a finger in the air. Everyone followed her gaze and saw hundreds of winged youkai circling about the village, as though ready to strike. Their hesitation to attack left proof that they were intelligent enough to choose a time to attack, and had obviously not expected Sesshomaru's troupe to be there. Then one of them shrieked, which seemed to jar the rest into diving.

"Into your huts, now!" Inuyasha yelled, immediately drawing Tessaiga and leaping high to engage in the battle. He had to keep his attacks held back because of the location, as people ran to their homes and locked themselves inside. Even the men who so adamantly before had demanded Sesshomaru leave were now gone, hidden from view.

Kagome snatched up her bow and arrows, watching as Miroku and Sango made a break for Kaede's hut, Shippou and Kyou helping the elderly woman along. Kagome was sure that the newlyweds wouldn't stay gone for long before coming back and aiding in protecting the village, but until then, she had to help Inuyasha.

As she turned, aimed, and fired her first arrow, she noted that Sesshomaru wasn't doing anything except watching the fight and keeping Rin plastered to his left leg. He slashed out every time a demon came near himself or Rin, but otherwise kept out of the fray. Jaken was panicking, it seemed, as he turned the staff round and round, firing flames in almost every direction.

Including towards Kagome. She yelped and backed off from the flames, feeling her skin burn but seeing only some light red tinting. She decided she'd be okay, but also decided that Jaken needed a good swipe. She aimed one of her arrows at the tiny demon and fired, the arrow shooting past his left eye and taking out a demon sneaking up behind him.

He jumped and looked surprised when he saw the creature behind him dissolve, then turned back to Kagome, trembling. She only looked at him disapprovingly for a moment before taking aim and blasting through a large group of the youkai that was nearing Inuyasha. He already had his hands full, seeing as how the birdlike youkai were pecking and snapping at him from all angles in midair.

Inuyasha finally tore apart from them and landed hard on his feet, turning back around and slashing upwards, sending a Kaze no Kizu blast at the offending youkai. The attack shredded the entire group that was after him and took out a treetop beyond before dissipating, and then Inuyasha leapt into the air once more.

Still, the entire village was covered in the swarm, which seemed to have gotten larger instead of smaller during the battle. Kagome turned and looked up at the sky, noting how the sky nearly blacked out from the sheer numbers, and heard Miroku's voice as he called out a prayer of destruction. Kirara's roar wasn't far behind, as well as Shippou's frantic orders for the children of the village to remain as silent as possible.

Though his voice could only get so loud, the kit's order seemed to almost silence the world. As the moon was truly blocked out, only the sounds of flapping wings and heavy breathing could be heard. All at once, vision was gone, and soon, the flapping wings stopped – even though everyone knew the youkai were still there.

Kagome couldn't help feeling fear now, hearing the shake in her voice as she said, "Inuyasha. . ?"

His response was a low, "Stay still; I can see you."

"What's going on?"

"Shh!" She felt a hand touch her side and jumped, then recognized the clawed fingers touching her. "I think those birds are trying to join together."

"You can see them, too?"

"They're becoming one," Sesshomaru's voice cut in. "They've blocked out the moonlight."

"It's like they became a cave," Inuyasha confirmed. "Touching ground all around the village."

"But why would –"

Her words died out when she heard a very shrill scream, which echoed throughout the cave of bodies. Not a second later and another scream joined in, along with a man's voice yelling out, "Akira!"

Inuyasha's hand left her as he dashed to the source, and Kagome knelt down, fumbling with the ground. "I can't see a thing," she whispered, then was surprised to feel the clawed hand return, this time touching her shoulder. She sighed. "Back so soon?" was all she could think to say.

"Not quite," Sesshomaru's voice told her, and she jumped.

That was Sesshomaru's hand on her shoulder? It must be, seeing as how Inuyasha just yelled from far away, "Everyone, hold on to those around you! The youkai are picking us off, one by one! Don't let them take you!"

Kagome stood up, wondering why Sesshomaru was bothering to touch her. Then she realized he was more or less steering her, and pushed her forward at the same time she felt tiny hands grab onto her skirt. "Lead Rin to safety," he told her. "Jaken will help protect her, and lead you to your friends' hut."

Kagome nodded easily, craving the comfort of her friend's presence. It didn't last long, as a demon seemed to choose now to make off with Rin. The little girl screamed and clung to Kagome tighter as she was lifted, and Kagome immediately reached out and locked her hands on the girl's kimono, pulling her back reflexively. Then she heard a demon shriek and knew Sesshomaru had gotten rid of it.

Now with Rin in her arms, Kagome called out for Shippou. "Use your foxfire, Shippou!"

He yelled the words in instant response, lighting the area around her vaguely. He bounded up to her, grabbed her offered hand, hopped up on her shoulder and, holding out the small flame, pointed. She followed where he pointed until she ducked under the hanging mat, settling down with Rin in her arms. Kyou and Shippou both hid themselves under her hair, while Kaede held a snoozing baby boy and Jaken – sweating profusely in his fear – stood just instead the doorway at attention.

"Don't worry, Jaken-sama," Rin said, though her voice shook. "Sesshomaru-sama and Inuyasha are too strong to lose the battle. We're safe."

True as that was, Kagome could only think, _I need to be out there, too. I need to be helping Inuyasha – but I can't see anything. Sango and Miroku are out there, fighting with them. . . I should be, too._

The sounds of battle and cursing as things failed filled the air, and every now and again, and scream rose out from the village. In total darkness, the humans' natural fear of being hunted and devoured rose tenfold, and Kagome felt pain in her heart as she thought of all those people who didn't have the luxury of Shippou's foxfire as light.

_**:End Chapter:**_

Woot, a finished chapter!

To get down to business, I have a great deal of information for you. I have been visiting sites lately, internet sites, that host manga freely for the reading. Two of these in particular I visit weekly. One shows Inuyasha, the other Naruto.

I can't exactly list the site here, but, if anyone wants the links to either one of these two sites (or any of the others I visit), ask in a review or email me. For instance, in the last chapter of Inuyasha, the two brothers got into yet another fight over the swords. So far, neither is really winning, though Sesshomaru was of the opinion he'd won and tossed Tenseiga.

Yes, he tossed the freaking sword. God damn but that man is so full of hatred, I'm surprised he hasn't turned completely red by now. Until the next chapter comes out, I don't know if he goes back for the sword or not, or whatever the hell is going to happen next. All I know is, next Thursday, that is the FIRST thing I'm gonna do upon waking up.

In the latest chapter of Naruto, however, there's mainly been talking going on. Yes, talking. Those who know Naruto well wouldn't surprised to hear he recently broke his arm. Even so, he's still the comedy relief, so it's hard to feel bad for him. :P

Now, I'm going to end this talk here so I can update! Night night all, it's almost 10 pm here.

See ya!


	29. So Sorry

I made something of a mistake. . .

Over the summer, I spent my time in Illinois, far away from Arizona. Since I had most of my important things with me, I wasn't so worried, and kept writing. In fact I got several chapters finished, though they're of stories I've yet to post.

Color me proud. But moving on. . .

The problem is, when I came back to Arizona at the end of summer, I made a mistake. Instead of copying my folder full of my stories, I accidentally copied the _shortcut_ to these documents. If you don't understand what that means, allow me to explain.

A shortcut will take you directly to the folder or file you want to access. Without that folder or file, the shortcut is then useless. Trying to open said shortcut will only give you a error notice, that what you're actually trying to access isn't there. I am working on solving this problem, but I don't know how long it's going to take.

I have contacted my parents about this, but since it's not an urgent issue, they're not rushing. What I need _them_ to do is burn my Stories onto a writable CD and send it to me, since they don't have internet. Knowing my dad, he's probably worked out a way to get that CD, if not already gotten it. From there all I have to do is wait for his call to walk him through the burning process. . . and then the CD is as good as on its way here.

Downside is that it'll take anywhere from three days to a week for the CD to cross the country. Once I have the CD, I'll be back on track for updating. Please be patient, as I am waiting, too.

And if you want to know what stories I mentioned earlier that haven't been posted, they're all Naruto fanfictions. To put it bluntly, I created four different women for four different reasons, and I've been trying to weave the stories together. . . which isn't easy, given they're different ages. I imagine these stories won't have many readers given how many Naruto fanfics there are, and my habit of making very strong women, rather than men.

. . .To add more room, I'll describe the four girls here, but please, don't review asking about them. Email me directly, or wait for me to post their stories, okay?

Ayane is my second favorite, and definitely the biggest character. I pretty much insert her in chapter 355, more or less stalking Kakashi -- and succeeding. One of her abilities is to completely hide herself from detection, but don't worry, she's not gonna attack. She chats with him for a few moments before he finds her, and when he does, he's shocked. Why, you ask. . ? She claims to be Naruto's twin sister, and her appearance matches. Even Kakashi is surprised by this, especially since her smell is nearly the same, as well. Deciding to watch her while granting her wish to meet Naruto, he allows her to come along with him until they all regroup. Once that happens, Ayane fiddles with her hands as reports are given back and forth, and then she introduces herself. . . as Naruto's twin sister, calling him "ani-ue" repeatedly. After some initial (and expected) reluctance, Naruto believes her, and she's ordered to tag along with his group. Later, she is examined by Tsunade to test DNA and such. It's determined that she _is_ who she says she is. . . I'm trying to rush her story to a close without inhibiting the progression of the Naruto manga, and omigosh, I actually have a plot to follow to this end.

Suzaki is my favorite, though I've run into a lot of problems with her appearance. She looks a lot like Ino in her hairstyle,blonde with a long ponytail and bangs. However, her clothes are much different, her eyes are red-orange, and she's a Sand Nin. She comes into the story three years after where the manga is right now -- when Naruto and the rest are eighteen years. Suzaki has always liked Gaara, even while he was unstable because of Shukaku, but her parents kept her from ever coming in contact with him. Once he became Kazekage, this rule bent, as Suzaki had to report to him with her team. The story begins as the end of a report, when he dismisses the team but asks Suzaki for a private word. He's all business at first, confronting her problems that he's seen over the years. After a long talk laden with tension, Suzaki moves out of her house as per his orders, but then has nowhere to go. She asks Kankuro for advice when she runs into him, and his advice is to go talk to Gaara again. Gaara's idea is that, since he won't be returning home that night, Suzaki can stay at his home for the night -- and until she can get a home herself.

Yone is possibly the oddest character I have ever created, for many different reasons. Her first memories involve being surrounded in darkness, never awake, never asleep, and never really uncomfortable -- just confused. Then she awakes in a forest-like area, but with no memories, and no survival instincts. After a few weeks of starving and wandering, she finds a desert, and decides to simply walk. It doesn't take long for her to develop a strong sunburn and pass out. When she awakes next, she sees a funny sky, a funny ground, and seems to be wearing more skin. (Meaning she sees a roof, a floor, and is covered in blankets.) She's being nursed back to health by two women, eventually teaching her to speak and general things she would need to know. They guess her age at six or seven, and introduce her to the person who saved her life in the desert: Kankuro. She begins seeing him as a father figure, which he fits to well by answering all her questions. Over the years, she attends their ninja academy, adopts face paint (inspired by Kankuro, naturally), and gains a summon. She graduates the academy early, gains a team with Kankuro as their sensei, and begins her life as a ninja. Later, whispers begin about who her father is, based on her looks, attitude and intelligence. . .

Lastly is Tasha, who I was very excited to be writing about in the beginning. Since then, and since creating these other three girls, the excitement is wearing off, but I still like her. Tasha is from the Rock country, and her story begins during the Chuunin Exam when she's seventeen. This is the first time her father allowed her to go, since before he was worrying over her possible death. She has added chakra by means of a tiny crystal, imbedded since birth at the corner of her left eye. This crystal holds the excess chakra she gives off, and has been growing for four generations. It's essentially the last hope of her clan to reach their long-lost bloodline ability once again. However, she doesn't care about that, and is unhappy being a ninja. She would much rather live a quiet life, with a husband who appreciates her beauty (she's very vain over her beauty, by the way). During the Exam, she repeatedly ignores her team, especially her sensei, shows them up, and even nearly kills one of her teammates in a preliminary battle. She does all this because her team is very spiteful towards her, and she returns that spite in like. When she's attacked by her sensei and many of the other examinees, it's Shino who spots the attack and saves her. Each of these examinees are expelled from the exam and sent back home, and after a talk with Tsunade, she's given a room to stay in at the Aburame clan homes. She's allowed to stay there until she has enough money to rent another place.

. . .Okay, so I got a little carried away with all this describing, but there's still a lot I've witheld. Again, sorry about my situation here, and any questions regarding the four ladies listed above should be emailed to me. It'll help if the subject line is the girl's name, okiday?


	30. Shikon No Tama

"Don't worry, Jaken-sama," Rin said, though her voice shook. "Sesshomaru-sama and Inuyasha are too strong to lose the battle. We're safe."

True as that was, Kagome could only think, _I need to be out there, too. I need to be helping Inuyasha – but I can't see anything. Sango and Miroku are out there, fighting with them. . . I should be, too._

The sounds of battle and cursing as things failed filled the air, and every now and again, a scream rose out from the village. In total darkness, the humans' natural fear of being hunted and devoured rose tenfold, and Kagome felt pain in her heart as she thought of all those people who didn't have the luxury of Shippou's foxfire as light.

_**Sixty**_

Kagome wasn't expecting the fight to last very long, which is why it surprised her so much when she heard Inuyasha give a string of curses that could only mean he was frustrated and hurt. Though she wanted badly to step outside and see for herself what was going on, she didn't have so much as a bow to protect her, and she didn't know much about using her spiritual powers without some kind of an anchor.

"Jaken," she said, catching his attention, "doesn't Sesshomaru have Bakusaiga?"

Gritting his teeth, the toadlike youkai replied, "No. He gave it over to Toutousai a few days ago for a bit of maintenance, and we were actually on our way to go get it back."

". . .If Toutousai noticed Sesshomaru hasn't come back as planned," Shippou started, thinking it out, "does that mean he'll come here, with the sword in hand?"

"Knowing Toutousai, not yet," Kagome told the kitsune. "He'd probably wait a day or so before getting worried."

Kyou was curled up next to Shippou, holding on for dear life, and now finally spoke. "Kagome. . .I'm really scared," she admitted.

"Don't be," Kagome told her, "you've got Shippou protecting you, y'know."

Kyou gave a small smile, while Shippou's face flamed. Though embarrassed, he still sat up straighter, as though trying to impress everyone around him.

Outside, Inuyasha gave a grunted yell and yelled out an attack – from the sounds of it, Kongousouha. Kagome only looked down at Rin in her lap, the girl holding on but not nearly as visibly scared as Kyou was. She thought of telling Rin some soothing words, but of course, Rin didn't need them; Sesshomaru was the girl's God in all rights and purposes. Rin simply wasn't the kind of girl to be frightened in this situation, with a person like Sesshomaru fighting for her.

That's when she got the idea. If Bakusaiga wasn't here, why shouldn't its attacks be? A single swing of that blade would end this threat for sure. And if she thought about it well, she was fairly certain she could find a way to mimic that attack.

Tearing a hole that couldn't be healed would make it acidic, though. She wasn't so sure if she could make acid, but given how uncharted her spiritual powers were, she figured it was worth a shot. Handing Rin off to Kaede, she stood and plucked up a bow and arrow. One shot, she promised herself; she would give it one shot, then head back here, to safety.

She poured a lot of hope into this, telling Shippou to remain inside when he asked her where she was going. When she stepped out into the darkness, to her surprise, she found a glow on her chest -- the Shikon no Tama. It was glowing a little white light. . .

Then there was a click in her mind. Pulling on Midoriko's own power, mixed with her own, could probably purify anything. And purified demons, she knew, tended to shatter or dissolve completely. Like as if they were dipped in acid.

Moving quick, before Inuyasha could notice she was outside the hut, she touched the tip of her arrow to the jewel, watching in fascination as the glowing lessened on the jewel itself, spreading to the arrowhead. With a smirk that was entirely victorious, she aimed far out to where she knew no one was. Almost aiming directly overhead, she focused on her spiritual powers, pulling them from herself and trying to drench the arrow in it.

She released the arrow. With satisfaction, she watched it glow brighter as soon as it left, darting upwards. She knew the moment it hit the demons, because at that point, it was as if the light itself had shattered, spreading outwards like a flame. Where the arrow went, she didn't know, but within seconds, that purifying flame was definitely making progress.

And the entire demon-cave shook and screamed, proving just how much damage that one hit was doing. Mentally, she thanked Midoriko, then ducked back inside. She knew that at some point, probably even minutes from now, she was going to be terribly berated by Inuyasha. But she had done her job, accomplished helping everyone, protecting the village she had grown so fond of.

She could hear the sounds outside as one by one, those fighting noticed the hole she'd punctured in the demons' walls. She heard, not surprisingly, how angry Inuyasha's voice was compared to the others. And she heard more demon shrieks as time went on, smiling to herself to know that she'd been of help.

Twenty minutes later, with everything settled, she was starting to regret trying to help. Inuyasha was absolutely furious at her leaving safety, even if she wasn't in direct danger or managed to fatally wound the demons. Though she hadn't seen the end of the battle, she knew the demons weren't stupid enough to remain joined to others who were being purified. Naturally, eventually the demons fled.

Since Inuyasha was more concerned with berating her than answering questions, it was Sesshomaru who gave the details asked for. And then he, Rin and Jaken were gone.

Apparently the demons tried to heal the hole multiple times before giving up, splitting apart. The individual demons flew in different directions, hinting at dissention among the ranks; they couldn't agree on what to do at that point, so they abandoned each other. Which meant, thankfully, that they wouldn't be trying the attack again.

It took a long time for Kagome to get Inuyasha to quiet down and accept that there had been no loss in her one moment outside of safety. Kaede assessed the damage done, noting that while it was terrible that they'd lost a total of eleven villagers, somehow or another the demons had avoided destroying any homes. The silver lining became that no one would have to rebuild anything physically, but those scarred mentally would have a long road ahead.

It was sad to think she knew that from experience, but she chose not to dwell on it. "Inuyasha," she said now, as they settling to get some rest. When he looked at her, she went on, "I think we should make that trip tomorrow."

He nodded. "I was just thinking that," he agreed. "Now go to sleep."

She gave him a weak kind of smile. "You just love your guardian duties, don't you?" she teased. When he snorted as a response, she relaxed on her mat, Shippou and Kyou curled up next to her. Thinking about it, she could almost see little hearts floating around those two.

It made her think that those two were just fated to be together. And she was glad Shippou had someone to be with him all the time now; whenever she left for home, she worried over whether he was getting bullied by Inuyasha or not, regardless of the fact that Shippou tended to start their spats. But with him focusing on Kyou more, it was unlikely he would test Inuyasha like he used to.

** Midoriko's Cave **

"Have you thought about what wish you'll make?" Miroku asked Kagome. It was something he worried about, and a lot, at that.

Kagome nodded. "I remembered something my grandpa told me a long time ago. It all makes sense, so it should work."

"And if not," Inuyasha threw in, "we'll just have to face another Naraku, won't we? Heh, we'll do it all over again if we have to."

Kagome couldn't help but smile at the way he spoke. When they first met, it was all "I" and "me" and "my." Now, he included everyone in the way he talked. "That won't happen," she said now. "I've figured it out."

Walking up to the statue, she lifted the Shikon no Tama high enough that it could easily be seen as an offering. Taking a deep breath, she allowed herself to think that Inuyasha was still here, right behind her, and erased all doubt and fear from her mind. Then she said, "Shikon no Tama, I want you to disappear. Forever."

With a flash, it was gone. The statue of Midoriko and the demons began to shake, and she hastily took some steps back. She wasn't expecting it, but the statue collapsed, little by little. Then, oddly enough, as arms and limbs and gaping jaws fell, Midoriko's statue remained, still standing tall.

". . .Midoriko-sama?" Miroku asked no one. They were all held in a kind of stupor, wondering why the demon collapsed and yet Midoriko hadn't.

Then, very abruptly, that part shattered. Midoriko's body simply fell apart, but in her place was a kind of white outline. But it couldn't be a ghost, because ghosts had middle parts, and the outline didn't. Or at least, it didn't at first, but slowly, it gained a face, a body, hair. But it was nude, and Sango quickly made Miroku look away at that fact.

It was Midoriko, and Kagome knew it. She gave the older woman a smile, but said nothing, having nothing in her mind appropriate for such a meeting. Midokriko said nothing as well, looking down at Kagome from her place. It looked as though she wanted to say something to Kagome, yet she didn't; instead, she returned Kagome's smile. With a bow in her direction, Midokriko faded out.

Unable to stop herself, Kagome bowed back, wishing the older woman could find peace where she was going.

And then Inuyasha shattered the moment. "Well, that's done with."

Kagome groaned. "Inuyasha, that was terrible timing," she chided.

"What?" he asked, offended, while Miroku and Sango left, chuckling. "It's the truth!"

"It's still rude," Kagome told him firmly. "Midokriko-sama should come back and 'o-su-wa' you."

He flinched at the first three syllables, but when Kagome didn't finish, he gave a sigh of relief. Then she was walking out and he was following, grumbling about priestesses and their nasty attitudes. She just rolled her eyes.

Shippou and Kyou had been waiting outside the cave, in case anything bad happened. Now they both dashed over to Kagome, each one latching onto one of her legs. She couldn't help but smile down at them, thinking they were just too cute. "Everything's fine," she told them softly.

Inuyasha snorted. "It's not like you did much. 'Shikon no Tama, I want you to disappear,'" he mocked in a high tone.

"Osuwari," she snapped over her shoulder, pleased at the expected groan he gave when he hit the dirt.

Miroku gave the other man a pitying look, even as he gave a laugh. "You have to learn to watch your mouth," he advised.

Sango gave Miroku a skeptic look in return. She said, "You have to learn to watch your hands."

Kagome snickered, and even unhappy, Inuyasha got up laughing at Sango's quick tongue. Then he turned a burning glare on Kagome while Miroku tried somewhat desperately to get back on Sango's good side.

Kagome gave Inuyasha the sweetest look she could, saying an innocent, "What?"

It worked the way she wanted it to. He blushed a little, mumbled something unintelligible, and folded his arms, now facing some other direction. It was perhaps cruel, but she knew just how to manipulate him. On the other hand, he did the same thing sometimes; maybe it was just fair play.

"Okay," she said to Shippou and Kyou, "everything's over and done with. You can let go now."

Shippou frowned even as he released her leg. "You're going back home again, aren't you?"

Kyou did likewise, though she remained silent, only looking up at Kagome uncertainly.

Kagome felt her heart melt, though she nodded. "You can't blame me for wanting to sleep in my own bed, Shippou-chan. Besides, you have Kyou-chan now, right?"

Kyou glanced over at Shippou, who immediately was blushing and shuffling his feet. "I-I guess," he agreed. "But, it's like you only just got here."

"And before you know it, I'll be back," she promised. Kneeling down, she hugged both of them, swayed by how it felt to have their little arms around her neck. She was totally overcome, and she knew it. Even so, she let them go. "Just be good, and I'll come back with sweets, how's that?"

Instantly they both perked up, the bribe working well. All of a sudden they were happy to watch her go, knowing full well what she'd be returning with.

_**:End Chapter:**_

I LIIIIIIIIIIIIIVE!!

Well, mostly. :D

Now I need to finish this fic quick, cause I really have zero motivation to go on and on with it. I have, however, started a ton of new fics since my last update. . . .which was last year OMFG someone shoot me!

But really, don't. I've had enough injuries because of this fic as it is.

On another note, I've been following the Inuyasha manga, and just this last chapter, they finally got around to killing Naraku and getting rid of the jewel. So yay, some inspiration. I figure I need to finish this fic before Rumiko Takahashi finishes the actual manga. XD I imagine there'll only be a few more chapters coming, but I'll be sure to add a sweet li'l lemon square since I believe it deserves one more happy time for Kagome and Inuyasha.

I'm also planning what to do about their baby, since I believe I shall include that as well. If only for a short while.

I shall now pimp myself. Please, go read and review my other fics! In particular, "Strange Existence," it's a Jak and Daxter fic. Pleeeeaaaase? It's only just in the beginning stages, but I really like it and I would love some feedback, as it's getting no love at all.

In return, I vow to keep trying resolutely to finish this fic. 100

**:TBC:**


	31. Young Meets Old

_She gave him a weak kind of smile. "You just love your guardian duties, don't you?" she teased. When he snorted as a response, she relaxed on her mat, Shippou and Kyou curled up next to her. Thinking about it, she could almost see little hearts floating around those two. _

_It made her think that those two were just fated to be together. And she was glad Shippou had someone to be with him all the time now; whenever she left for home, she worried over whether he was getting bullied by Inuyasha or not, regardless of the fact that Shippou tended to start their spats. But with him focusing on Kyou more, it was unlikely he would test Inuyasha like he used to._

_**Midoriko's Cave **_

"_Just be good, and I'll come back with sweets, how's that?"_

_Instantly they both perked up, the bribe working well. All of a sudden they were happy to watch her go, knowing full well what she'd be returning with. _

_**AE Sixty One :TimeSkip:**_

"What did you come here for?"

Inuyasha had to wonder about that. It was just that, lately, he'd been wondering about his older self. Though it'd been almost two years since he'd last seen "himself," it appeared his older self hadn't bothered even attempting to groom himself. Maybe Sesshomaru made him bathe every so often, but it must have been a long while, in any case.

Judging by the smell, anyway.

At the question, Inuyasha had to shrug. "Curiosity got to me," he replied. "You're. . .me, after all."

His older self wasn't looking at him, hadn't glanced up since Inuyasha arrived. He was just slouching in the window, gazing out as though there was something interesting out there. And at Inuyasha's weak explanation, he shook with a soundless laugh. He said, "That can't be all."

Inuyasha couldn't help but feel his pride well up. He'd given a perfectly respectable answer, hadn't he? Wouldn't someone in his place be interested in knowing his older self, if only a bit? "What else would I have come here for?"

Slowly, the other him turned his head to look at Inuyasha. He had a wry smirk on his face. "Maybe because it's four days until Kagome's birthday?"

And he was caught red-handed. He couldn't even muster the will to hide a string of blush that went across his cheeks. "Okay, I can't blame you for remembering that part."

"Five centuries and I haven't forgotten," the older man told him. "And you're stressing because you're having a hard time thinking of what to do."

"Don't read my mind; it's weird," Inuyasha spat.

His other self heaved a heavy sigh. "Why'd you have to come and see me to get this information? I asked Kagome's mother for help."

Inuyasha felt chagrined all at once. "Right, asking you would just. . ." _Bring up painful memories_, his mind supplied. He didn't realize it until now, but it really was stupid to come here.

"Don't bother going now," the other man told him as he went to leave. "At least let me help you plan. I can even tell you what she liked, and what she didn't. You could make an. . .even more beautiful memory. For both of you."

Despite knowing how badly it would cut him, Inuyasha was surprised to hear how willing his older self was to help. He tried to weigh his options in favor of leaving, but the offer left in the air was too sweet to pass up. Though he knew Kagome very well, knew from more than a few slightly-passionate moments certain things she enjoyed, he didn't know how to make a romantic scene. Not even consulting books and movies had been much help with that subject.

Exhaling a deep breath, he turned back towards the room, met his other self's eyes, and nodded. "Okay," he agreed, "tell me what I should do."

Getting off the sill, the older inu crossed over to his younger image and replied, "It's not as simple as to tell. Especially because there'd be a lot of words and terms you don't know."

Offended, the younger Inuyasha narrowed his eyes. "Don't make it sound like I'm stupid!" he snapped. "I know plenty 'words and terms,' ya jerk."

The older man lifted his hands in defense. "I didn't mean that. I'd forgotten how much of a hothead I was when I was young. Just listen, will you? I can't deal with your ignorance right now."

Inuyasha just huffed. "I'm starting to wonder what the hell you could teach me."

"For one, what soft spots Kagome has that make her moan."

Instantly, the blush from before was more than doubled for the younger man. He stuttered, "Wh-wh-what?"

"She really likes it when you lick her neck, too."

"Geez, I know that already!"

"Did you know she also enjoys it when you run your nails along her skin?"

"N. . .No, that I didn't know," Inuyasha replied, more quietly than before. He had to admit, though, his older self _had_ been with Kagome longer. Naturally, he knew a lot more than Inuyasha could even guess at. "Alright, alright, you've proved your point. What more should I know?"

"We should start with the scene you need to present to her," his older self said, taking a step back. "Sit down," he added as he did the same. "I might talk fast, so try to keep up."

With an angry growl, the younger inu did as he was told, sitting cross-legged and glaring at his older self. And then, very abruptly, the elder Inuyasha was talking, and faster than he'd warned. He started describing the scene: the place he went to for Kagome's birthday, and at what time. He mentioned everything he brought, from food to drinks to blankets for sitting on. Once he had the entire scene sketched out, and was certain the younger Inuyasha had it figured out, he went on.

"If I described how to kiss well, would you be able to do it?" he asked, though it sounded like he was asking himself. "No, I don't think so," he answered before his younger self could. "How hard you can squeeze before making Kagome uncomfortable? Not likely, either. The light caresses she enjoys, just how to play with her hair, how hard you can nip?" He paused, as though thinking.

And Inuyasha found himself glaring harder, because a solution was forming in his head that he didn't like. "What are you getting at?" he all but growled.

His older self opened his mouth, then shut it for a moment more. "I believe I'd have to show you."

Narrowing his eyes further, the younger man bit out, "Meaning. . ?"

"Oh, I wouldn't take Kagome from you," the other man said reassuringly. "Besides, it wouldn't help at all for me to demonstrate and you try to mimic."

"Ah," Inuyasha said, relieved. But then he snapped back to attention. "Wait, _what are you getting at?!"_ he snapped.

"I'd have to show you; didn't I make this clear?" The elder Inuyasha was all calm, as though he'd been planning this a long time.

But the younger man's eye twitched. "You're not suggesting. . .what I think you're suggesting. You're not."

His older self rolled his eyes. "I can imagine you're getting the picture. Would you rather meet Kagome with your weak skills?"

The younger inu was all but infuriated. He got to his feet and barked, "Like hell I have weak skills! Kagome loves what I do to her!"

"So you don't think there's room for improvement, that your older self doesn't have any experience to offer? Regardless of what you may think," the older man stood as well, "I'm only thinking of Kagome's pleasure. Would you rather accidentally harm her and ruin the entire memory?"

Inuyasha had a retort on his tongue, which died the moment he realized something. Now confused, he asked, "Why do you keep calling it a memory?"

The older inu blinked, as though surprised. And then he laughed. "All I have are memories. I'll apologize for phrasing it badly, if you'll just accept my help."

His younger self growled deep in his throat, but eventually gave a nod. "Fine, you sick fuck. But you'd better tell me before you do _anything_, got that?!"

The older man nodded. "You're forgetting that I already know how you think. Don't be stressed; I won't take any pleasure from this, either."

_**Later **_

What a botched day. Inuyasha had never felt more demeaned in his life. Even being kicked and stoned, insulted and beaten, he'd pulled through fine. But having to be smart-talked into letting his older self do things -- albeit in the name of teaching -- that he'd never have agreed to otherwise, now _that_ was a humiliating loss in his mind.

What made it so much worse was that it had worked as it was meant to -- things Inuyasha never knew could feel good had been done to him. Even through the uncomfortable situation and creeping fear at the back of his mind hadn't dulled that. And it was terrible to think that, while it was unimaginable to do such a thing with yourself, it was much more horrifying to imagine doing it with anybody else, except Kagome.

Had it not been for the knowledge offered, he wouldn't have even considered -- _that_. Had it not been himself offering it, he wouldn't have considered accepting. And had it not been for the eventual employment for Kagome, he wouldn't have accepted. For all these reasons, his other self was the last -- and only -- choice to be made.

That didn't change the fact that he was seriously disturbed now. It was perhaps due to luck that he chose today, rather than later, to make such a visit, because if he had waited until Kagome's birthday, there'd be no way he could get such a disgusting memory from his mind. The entire evening would end up ruined for that exact reason.

But then, knowing how he thought, would his older self have offered, if it were that day?

Now he was more confused than before, and he didn't think he'd stop pondering it for some time. Such a stressful string of thoughts, yet he couldn't banish them. At least not yet. Hopefully all he needed was to wake to find Kagome asleep on his chest to clear his mind. After all, for almost two years, it had done wonderfully it making him calm.

And thoughts of Kagome were always pleasant. He almost felt like humming now, images of her at the front of his mind. Slowly, brick by brick, those thoughts of her built a little wall blockading today's events at the rear of his mind. With any luck, it'd be a long, long time before that wall broke. _Yes,_ he thought, _just keep focusing on Kagome. In no time at all, you'll be giving her the pleasure of her life._

Ahh, what a wonderful thought _that_ was. After all this time with her, he was really beginning to believe that she was born for him. It was Kagome who taught him to smile, to laugh, how to make friends, to depend on others and have others depend on him. She brought out all of his emotions, one by one, and played with them all until it became obvious to him that she really did own him, body and soul. For her, he'd gone through hell more than once, a few times at her own hands. He was under her power, and the rosary had nothing to do with it.

Or perhaps it did, he amended. It was the rosary which made him step back, reassess the situation, and accept that he had to somehow make her take them off. It was because she never did that he kept following her, until he finally admitted he _wanted_ to keep following her. Touching the beads absently, he allowed himself to smile. Yes, it was definitely because of that kami-damned necklace that he stuck with her at first, though in retrospect he could've chosen to go far beyond where her voice could reach.

_Or perhaps not,_ he thought with a mental laugh. No, he was using the rosary as an excuse, and had been from the beginning. He followed Kagome because he chose to from the beginning, because her presence was something that just kept calling to him. He followed her everywhere because he wanted her beside him, even if it meant releasing everything else. He'd done so much for her already, he just knew that if she asked him, he'd agree to stay her, in her time, and remain with her.

Because he loved her more than anything else, nothing else even compared. After all, she had literally given him life, and in more than one way. Reviving him had been accidental on her part, he knew it; but it didn't change the fact that she, by the power of her very presence, had revived every part of him. He hadn't even thought such things about Kikyo before.

He had to wonder, every time he considered this, if he was attracted to Kikyo because some part of him knew Kagome would be coming for him later on. Certainly he was drawn to her soul; wasn't this was they called "soul mates?" For the two of them to feel so strongly about each other, didn't it mean they were together in a past life, too? If he concentrated hard enough, every so often he could almost swear he saw it connecting them: the red string of fate.

Even if it was a trick of his mind, he could still feel it. For better or worse, he was Kagome's dog, and always would be. In the past he would've try to rebut that thought, even try to beat it into submission, but he knew better now. He didn't care if it sounded demeaning; he'd say it aloud if he had to.

Kagome was his woman just as much as he was her dog.

_**:End Chapter:**_

Next chapter: Kagome's eighteenth birthday. Also starring the one and only naughty scene of the AE: Changing Lives. So far the plan is to write a super-duper long chapter, and merely subtract the sexy part for . Yes, this plan seems workable.

I'm kind of rushing this stuff out since I learned that the last chapter of Inuyasha is coming out just next week. Yeah, so, 558 chapters total, I believe? Ah well, can't try to beat the manga, but at least I can finish my little version of the future.

How many ladies out there wanna believe Kagome and Inuyasha will have little versions of themselves in the next manga chapter? Awww, it'd be so cute. Admit it!

Also, the slightly yaoi scene in here was for two reasons: the first, and very legit reason, was explained by the elder Inuyasha. It was something he regretted in the past, not knowing how to please Kagome more. So, naturally he wanted his younger self's experience to be better. And the second reason is to make fangirls happy. Ya heard me. I'm trying to appease you ladies, despite my hatred of all things yaoi.

Well, less "hatred," more "dislike but put up with it." Anyways.

I'm hungry. Chapter ending, buh bye.

**:TBC:**


	32. Last Chapter and Epilogue

Apology: For the insane time taken in writing this, I have no excuse. But I'll give you my reasons, so perhaps you could understand my dwindling interest.

In the beginning, I wrote the original "Transformations" after seeing only a handful of Inuyasha episodes. For those of you who've been with the story that long, the very first "Transformation" was deleted from after about eight chapters. But I'd been writing the chapters, at that point, in a way that deleted the previous chapter. Because of this, I had to buckle down and rewrite it from the beginning.

The second version of "Transformations" took a very different turn, given I'd seen many more episodes and because I can't keep to a plot worth a damn. It was posted in 2003, finished in 2006. And it was quite a ride, something I didn't want to end – at the time.

In the Alternate Ending, "Changing Lives," I wanted to take the story in a very different, even more radical turn that didn't involve changing Kagome, but centering on her wish to change herself for Inuyasha's sake. By this point in time, I've seen every Inuyasha episode, read every manga chapter, and burned myself out as far as interest goes.

Yes, Inuyasha and Kagome are such adorable characters. Yes, they have a deep-rooted and endless amount of trust for one another. Yes, their destinies lie with each other and **yes,** they deserve to be together. But by this point, I'm tired of writing about them.

The only reason why this chapter was written at all is to end the Transformations series, to give it a happy ending and closure. And for the fans, everybody who followed this series and gave their feedback. The story was an accidental, unintentional hit, and it kept me writing when I didn't think I was any good at it.

Thank you for reading and, honestly, I'm glad it's finished.

_**AE Sixty Two: Last Chapter**_

Kagome couldn't hold back a string of giggles. She was eighteen today, a long-awaited day for her. Soon she would graduate high school, she had already received a driver's license, she was thinking hard about college. . .

And, in front of all of those thoughts, was Inuyasha. He had certainly gotten used to her time over the past three years, she thought. He could wear a t-shirt and jeans just as easily as his fire-rat outfit, though he still obviously preferred the latter.

Today she'd been treated to the sweet smell of cinnamon rolls as she awoke, to find that somebody had baked them (probably her mama) and Inuyasha had brought a plate of them upstairs to wake her. Then the family – Inuyasha included, as always – had gone shopping for her sake, though she couldn't pick and choose what her gifts would be, despite prodding.

For lunch her friends had dropped in with a cake large enough to feed them all (and Inuyasha had selfishly taken the largest piece) and presents of their own. They came back with several stuffed animals, most of which were white puppies with the most adorable expressions, an obvious point at Inuyasha – which he didn't miss, and wasn't pleased with.

Even as the evening dragged on, pleasantly enjoying her big one-eight, she knew the night wasn't over. She knew Inuyasha had plans. She could tell with the way he eyed her, then the clock, then the sky, incessantly.

She wasn't disappointed.

He finally pulled her from her family, who seemed to understand why; she figured they were all in on it. But she wasn't expecting when he took her outside, and promptly blindfolded her.

She'd laughed outright. After all, this made her wonder harder what he was thinking, and it made her more excited. She couldn't wait to see what he'd done.

_For her,_ her mind stressed.

It was a very familiar thing, to climb onto his back like she'd always done in the past. Yet it was very different blindfolded – it was like riding a roller coaster with your eyes closed, not knowing which way it would turn next. Saying she lost her bearings quickly was a bit of an understatement. She wasn't even positive they were still right side up.

Her delighted laughter every time they fell from a leap only served to spur Inuyasha on more, she noticed. But of course, how many times had she allowed herself to really enjoy trips like this? In the past – when they were necessary – it had always been to outrun something, to keep up with or meet someone. His runs had never been a simple point of amusement or exhilaration.

It was now.

She felt a little disappointed when he landed for the last time, allowing her to step back from him. He must have noticed her pout, because he laughed. "Don't worry," he said, taking her hand, "we get to do this again on the way back."

"You've convinced me," she giggled, leaning into his strong embrace. For a moment she laid her head on his shoulder, pressing the curve of her nose into his neck.

Actions and words forever differing, his hand came up to smooth through her hair even as he growled, "Hey, don't get too comfortable. I've got plans and you're gonna play along."

She grinned. "Plans, huh? Since when do you plan?"

"Since before."

"Before when?"

"Before."

A giggle escaped her lips, acquiescing by lifting her head. "Alright, then. Lead on, handsome." Then she squeaked, surprised at the sudden pressure on her mouth. The moment she realized it was kiss, it was over, much to her disappointment.

"You know better than to call me that," he ground out, even as he started to pull on her hand to guide her.

"Oh?" was her response. "Why's that? Are you afraid you might actually meet my standards?"

"Your standards are broken," he commented, absently helping her climb over a rock.

She could hear a stream or brook, too. He'd led her somewhere outdoors – probably deep outdoors, far from anybody else, if she knew him right. And she did. "If my standards are broken," she replied, "and you meet my standards. . ?"

"You shouldn't have worn that dress," he said sharply, changing the subject.

A plain yellow sundress with a few floral patterns near the hem had been chosen for today, along with a matching ribbon keeping her hair back in a ponytail (which was quite a bit longer given she didn't cut it much). She'd picked it because it was simple, and she didn't tend to like the more complicated outfits worn by her generation.

"What's wrong with it?" she asked idly, still following his lead, sidestepping obstacles with ease thanks to how he led her. "Is it gonna get dirty?"

He didn't reply right away, finally saying, "It'd better."

Her heart thudded a littler harder in her chest at that, though from a different kind of excitement than before. Her mind filled with thoughts of what the rest of tonight might be, no longer noticing where Inuyasha was taking her nor the sunlight on her bare arms. Oh yes, she was ready for whatever he had in mind – had been for a long time.

She wondered if he knew that. And if he did, he was that much more admirable, holding back whenever they grew passionate even if he had to dig his claws into his palms to do it.

With a sudden compassion for what he must have gone through, waiting for her, she stopped and pulled on his hand to bring him back.

"What's the matter?" he asked sharply, concern evident. "Did you step on something?"

She trailed a hand up his arm, shoulder and neck to coordinate herself, then stood on her toes to kiss him. She almost missed, catching the corner of his mouth more than his lips. He gave a chuckle, replanting the kiss for better contact. In an odd form of gratitude, she exhaled lightly against that mouth in a half-moan.

When he drew back, the first thing he said was, "What was _that_ for?"

_Brash as always,_ she thought with an inner grin. "That was for 'because I love you,'" she answered.

He was silent for a moment, then snapped, "Don't say confusing things." She laughed, expecting him to start pulling her along again.

Instead, he swept her up to hold her to his chest. Automatically, her arms linked around his neck. With a giggle, she said, "Was I going too slow for you?"

"Keh!" was his response. "You're always going too slow."

_Yeah, I love you too,_ she thought to herself, grinning. After so long together it became easy to read his mind, to decipher what he _didn't_ say.

As he continued the trek, she snuggled into his neck, enjoying the warmth she found. On second thought, she decided to start planting feathery kisses wherever her lips could reach, and was rewarded with a soft yet throaty growl from her hanyou.

In an attempt to stop her, he gave her a jerk that was more of a toss, and she squealed at being momentarily weightless.

She thwapped his chest in response. "That was mean," she said.

"Keh!" He growled. "You should know better."

"Oh, so now I can't kiss you when I feel like it?" she teased, punctuating the sentence with a kiss to his jaw.

Another growl came from him. "Not when I'm trying to concentrate. I can't think with you all over me," he told her sharply.

"I'm not 'all over you' yet," she countered. _Though I __**am**__ planning on it,_ she amended mentally.

His reaction was so subtle she almost missed it: a slight tightening of his grip on her back and knees. He was thinking of the future, too, then. That made it all the better.

Obligingly, she kept her hands -- and mouth -- off him for the rest of the walk. Which didn't take long; he'd stopped the run-jump part of the trek close to the destination. He set her down, turned her pointedly in one direction, and said into her ear, "We're here."

The blindfold came off as she shivered, fully enjoying the feel of his breath on her ear. She had to blink a few times to get used to the light, but when she did, she caught her breath. Absently, one hand lifted to her mouth in wonder.

She was overlooking an amazing view of the wilderness. Two very big mountains where in her sight, swelling to the left and right of the setting sun. A few clouds strung about in the sky, painted red and orange in the fading light. She could see a glimmering stream of water, too, leading between those mountains, disappearing completely into the distance. The entire scene was breathtaking -- and it reminded her of a familiar view she'd seen a handful of times in the past.

The _far_ past.

She spun on her heel to see Inuyasha, taking in his slightly bashful expression. Was he worried she wouldn't appreciate what he'd shown her? She threw her arms around him in a tight hug, all too happy when he returned it. "It's beautiful," she commented.

"It's all yours," he replied, quietly.

Shock went through her and she leaned back in question. "Mine?"

"These days, Sesshomaru owns most everything," he explained. "He gave this area to me, and I'm giving it to you."

"Sesshomaru gave you this land?" she echoed, having trouble believing it.

"Everything within sight of _this_ spot is yours, now," he corrected.

It was mind-blowing. She could hardly conceive of it -- this gift -- and knew without a doubt that she never would have expected it. She was still trying to wrap her mind around it when she saw, behind him, a cloth laid out with a few boxes set atop it.

"Oh, Inu," she murmured, wondering seriously when the gifts, the affection, would end. He was being far too thoughtful, even for her birthday. . .

He glanced behind him at the square, plaid cloth and shrugged, not the least bothered by his nickname. "The land was just for you," he told her. "The rest of the night belongs to us."

How she ever got this man, she never knew. She gave him another hug and kiss, taking his hand. "You have my undivided attention." She was smiling.

He gave her one more kiss, saying, "You know how I love that smile."

Oh, that she did. She was grinning brightly as he led her to the cloth to sit. Well, he more lounged on his side than sat, eyes on her alone. Eying the three boxes, she wondered which she should open first. Her lovely hanyou wasn't giving her any clues, either, so she supposed it didn't matter -- he probably thought the presents were but affection, whereas 'love' would come after.

She was giddy, she had to admit. With one more sweeping look at the boxes before her, she decided to go in the natural order: right to left. Opening the first box, a pale blue with a violet ribbon glued to the top, she had to laugh outright. Although the box was medium-sized, the present inside was small.

She pulled out a mimicry of Inuyasha's prayer beads, smaller than his. He was smirking at her now, clearly enjoying the joke. "I love it," she assured him, "but I'm not gonna wear it." She let it fall back in the box.

He shrugged. "I wasn't expecting you to."

The second box was bigger than the first -- and it had another box inside of it. She rolled her eyes, pulling out the second box and opening it, as well. Inside was a small, round cake with centuries-old kanji on it, spelling two words: "love" and "Kagome." It smelled delicious, but given how much cake she already had today. . .

She closed it with a smile, "Later."

This time, he frowned. "The lady who took the order for that cake thought it was hilarious."

"I bet it was," she laughed.

"She didn't even know the characters to write!" he blurted. "I had to write them _for_ her."

"It _is_ ancient, Inuyasha," she told him. "Besides scholars and historians, not many people are gonna be able to read it."

"_You_ can," he pointed out.

"That's because _I_ spent over a year of my life in ancient times," she shot back. "If I couldn't read it, well, I'd hardly have been a miko, now would I?"

"With your power, reading and writing are overkill," he countered.

_Overkill,_ her mind echoed. He'd been playing too many Final Fantasy games with Souta. "May I open the last present now?" she asked with a laugh.

"It's your gift," he shrugged. But she saw, well-guarded, the nervousness in his eyes. This was the 'big' part, was it? She wondered what could possibly be bigger than ancient kanji on a cake, prayer beads, and acres of land. The third box was smaller than the first two, and like the second box, it had another box within it.

The shape of the box instantly had her focus. If she didn't know any better, she'd swear it was the kind in movies that always has a ring or set of earrings in it. It certainly felt velvety. _Now_ she was nervous, and no amount of curiosity was going to make her open it quickly. She eased it open.

A ring shown back at her. The band looked like white gold, set with three small, glimmering diamonds on both sides of the centerpiece: an oval gold-colored jewel. It looked like amber.

And, looking up at her hanyou, the color was awfully close to his own eye color. She clutched the tiny box to her chest, more touched that he'd known to get an engagement ring than she was amazed by the ring itself. A tiny part of her mind told her that it was probably Sesshomaru who gave Inuyasha the ring, or at least the advice to get one, but it was very quiet.

Inuyasha pushed himself out of his relaxed pose, taking a knee, and clasped her hands in his. Her heart was going a mile a minute.

"This is how it goes, right?" he asked. He looked so nervous. . .

She nodded, not trusting herself to speak just yet. After all, they'd never actually discussed marriage; it had always been a kind of unrealized certainty hanging over their heads. And she never really believed he'd propose, at least not the way it was done in the movies.

He pulled the box from her hands, took out the ring, and -- head down -- said, "This finger, right?"

He had her left ring finger lifted. She swallowed, saying, "Yes."

As soon as that little ring was slipped onto her finger, she launched herself forward, knocking him back. She kissed him over and over, managing a sentence between them: "I -- love you -- so much -- Inuyasha."

She got chuckles as a response, wondering if he was amused at the broken sentence, her fervor, or the fact that she was giving him no chance to reply. The ring on her finger was a peculiar kind of weight, but one she was fully willing to get used to.

It didn't take long for him to take charge, rolling them over. Her small, quick pecks were drowned out by his own passionate kisses, shifting the mood from one of elation to one of desire. They'd both been waiting a long time, long enough that Kagome herself could hardly believe they'd lasted so long. She wanted him just as much as she loved him -- desperately so. Now they were finally going to be able to act on it.

And judging from the way Inuyasha was touching her, it was going to be a long, fulfilling night.

_**~*~Epilogue~*~**_

In one year, a lot can change. Not the least of which is the people themselves. People who were barely acquaintances got to know one another, and in so doing, discovered just how real fate was.

It was strange, but with Kagome's increasingly strong spiritual powers, she recognized Higaru as Miroku -- reincarnated. Some time after, he introduced that he'd married a woman named Akira, who had his same kind of job, and Kagome was even more surprised to recognize the woman as Sango.

Shippou and Kyou, however, weren't at all surprised. They'd already known, they said. And they had four sons over the past five centuries, all with their father's bright red hair and mischievous nature, despite all being adults.

The thing everyone was worrying about was Kagome's future. Of course they tried to ignore any impending doom until the time it would happen. Kagome and Inuyasha were married at two ceremonies, one in the past, one in the present, all friends and family invited. Shippou and Kyou got to attend twice -- Sesshomaru didn't attend the first. But despite all precautions, all protection and everything, she found herself pregnant a few months after her eighteenth birthday. In due time, she gave birth to a daughter as predicted, safe in a hospital room, loyal demons posted at every possible place around her.

As per her wish, the elder Inuyasha came by to see the newborn. He was nearly in tears even before he entered the room. His younger self gave him stern warnings about proximity, which the elder agreed to with a wry smile. Kagome berated him for being so cruel to himself.

But the older man did nothing more than approach and brush back the baby girl's hair. She stirred in response, opening wide blue eyes to see what had disturbed her. Despite Kagome offering to let him hold her, he declined. "It's all I needed," he explained simply. There was pain in his eyes, but a smile on his face, as he thanked Kagome and the younger Inuyasha in turn.

After he'd gone, Kagome wondered if she would ever see him again -- if anyone would ever see him again.

"Aiko," she said aloud, looking down at the baby in her arms.

It was one of the names she and Inuyasha had been debating over. Now that she had solid proof everyone loved her daughter, she wanted to prove it to the rest of the world with a perfect name: Aiko.

"I promise you," Inuyasha said to Aiko directly, "you'll always be loved, and never be alone."

Kagome thought it was a wonderful vow.

_**::End Story::**_

PHEW, what a ride! And what a long time it took to write. Oh yeah, it's official: no more alternate endings. This story needs to be 100% finished, for good.

I was originally going to write in some naughty time for the mediaminer readers. . .but eh, whatever. It's a long enough chapter as it is, and I think their first time couldn't ever be accurately printed, anyway. Now, however each and every one of you wants it to be (or prefers not to think about it), that it how it shall be.

A note to everyone who wants to write a fic in relation to _Transformations_ or _Changing Lives_: go right ahead. I've had a few people contact me through email, asking permission to write a side-story to this fic, and y-know what? I really don't think I need to be giving any permission. Fanfiction is fanfiction, after all.

This is NOT permission to directly plagiarize me. No reproducing this fic, for any reason, anywhere. Got it? Good.

God, I'm so relieved that it's over. Thanks to everyone who read along, everyone who reviewed, and especially, everyone who'd been following this fic for its entire 92-chapter ride. That's roughly the size of four books, you know -- so many words, so many pages!

This may very well be my last Inuyasha fanfiction ever. The most I'm gonna do now is finish _DarkWorld_ and _New Age_. Once that's done, who knows?

For those of you who don't know yet, the _Inuyasha_ series itself is finished. The anime is over with, has been since '97, if I remember correctly. And the manga just recently ended with over 500 chapters. There's a website called 'One Manga' that you could visit which has the whole manga series up for reading, if you like.

(Website addresses aren't allowed in fanfics, or at least, not for . Besides which, I refuse to blast the whole address to the whole internet. You've been given your clue. Anyone who needs more doesn't deserve to be surfing the net in the first place.)

Signing off for the last time, this is DL-chan, a.k.a. Pam. Good night!


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